_{Thumbnail image courtesy of Crescent City}

Motorists will soon encounter a detour on Front Street near the Cultural Center and on K Street near the Redwood National and State Parks visitors center.

“This coming Monday, a week from today, we’re going to be looking at the closure of Front Street,” City Manager Eric Wier told the City Council on Monday, stating that the storm drain reconstruction project is moving ahead of schedule. “It’s good in the fact that our project is progressing and we’ll be able to get it done this year, but it is going to be an inconvenience. For that, we apologize to the community.”

Front Street will be closed from U.S. 101 to Play Street starting Wednesday, Wier told Redwood Voice Community News. K Street will also be closed between 2nd Street and Front Street. Motorists should expect the closure to last through November.

During the project, motorists will be asked to detour down 3rd Street to H Street before heading back down Front Street, according to Wier. The Fred Endert Municipal Pool and Kidtown will also still be accessible via Play Street.

To get to the Del Norte County Library, motorists will be able to enter the parking lot from Front Street near the Wild Rivers Community Foundation office, Wier said. The Redwood National and State Parks visitor center will be accessible from the 2nd Street entrance, the city manager said.

“We’re all in this together for this final phase,” he told councilors. “It might be a little painful for this next five months, but we’ll get through it.”

Wier said reconstructing Front Street in its entirety was being discussed when he began his career with Crescent City in 2003. A consultant working with the Del Norte Local Transportation Commission created a Front Street masterplan in 2011, focusing on the 10-block road and included improvements to the storm drain, water and sewage systems in addition to the street itself. 

After pursuing several funding scenarios, including a partnership with Elk Valley Rancheria, the city used Community Development Block Grant dollars in 2020 to improve the storm drain between B and G streets.

Measure S dollars, American Rescue Plan Act funds, Community Project monies from Congressman Jared Huffman and Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act money took the project from G to Play Street.

These last few blocks — Front Street from Play Street to the highway and K Street — is another $6 million in CDBG funding and a Clean California grant, according to Wier. 

All told, it took more than $15 million to finish Front Street, he said.

“There’s a lot that has gone into this when you look at all the different parts and pieces,” Wier said. “Some of the design work to get it shovel ready so we were competitive was from SB 1 (the Road Repair and Accountability Act), that’s another funding source, and when you look at water and sewer improvements, those are funded by the water and sewer funds.”

Funding from more than 10 different sources has gone into finishing Front Street, the city manager said. The $3 million Clean California grant Crescent City obtained in 2023 is paying for improvements to the Cultural Center as well as a gateway project welcoming people to the Beachfront Park area.

Once the project is finished, in about five months, there will be a ribbon cutting “to celebrate the success and a lot of hard work by a lot of people,” Wier said. 

“We appreciate the community’s patience,” he said.