Being a pedestrian in Franklinton will become easier later this year.
Bids on a major sidewalk improvement project are expected to be considered this week, with the awarding of a contract occurring in the near future.
Sidewalks like those that were constructed recently by the Washington Parish Government in the courthouse area are going to be built for a large segment of Main Street.
Parish Public Works Director Alex Sumrall hopes the project will begin after the 2024 Fair and will be completed about two months later.
The new sidewalks will run from about First Baptist Church all the way up to the Fairgrounds to the north. To the south, the new sidewalks will start at the municipal parking lot south of the courthouse and run well on past Riverside Medical Center to about where the Junky Monkey Flea Market is. On both the north and south, the new sidewalks will tie in with the recently constructed sidewalks in the courthouse area.
The Louisiana Department of Transportation will be paying for one segment of the project and Sumrall said a matching grant for the other segment is still being worked on.
He said there might be some minor traffic interruptions while the work takes place but the parish will work with the contractor to make these interruptions as infrequent as possible.
