Monroe St. rebuilding begins today downtown

7/6/2004

Two blocks of Monroe Street in Toledo will close today for reconstruction, forcing commuters to find alternate routes.

The closing of Monroe between Michigan and Erie streets will mark the start of a $1.35 million project to rebuild Monroe between Michigan and Summit Street in three phases.

Alternate routes during the construction include Washington Street, Madison Avenue, or Adams Street to Michigan or 14th.

Later project phases will close Monroe between Erie and Huron streets, and finally between Huron and Summit. Dates for those phases depend on when the first phase is completed, but city officials have promised that the final phase, which runs past Fifth Third Field, will not begin until the Toledo Mud Hens' season ends.

Unlike the resurfacing of Erie Street between Monroe and Cherry streets, the Monroe project will be a reconstruction. The finished product will resemble work done farther west on Monroe several years ago, including new sidewalks, decorative lighting, and landscaping.

About 21,000 vehicles per day use that section of Monroe, according to traffic data compiled by the Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments.