The City of Dixon is breaking ground on Phase III of the Riverfront Development Master Plan on Thursday, April 27, 2023 at 12:00 PM. Groundbreaking to be held at the former Dixon Iron and Mental Company site, 78 Monroe Ave., Dixon, IL 61021. This is the culmination of years of planning, years of clean-up along the riverfront, and 3 ITEP grants awards totaling $5.65M.
The Dixon Riverfront Master Plan was developed in 2002 by the Riverfront Commission. Their vision became realty in 2009 when Heritage Crossing was officially opened to the public. The second phase of the Riverfront Development Master Plan has come to fruition. In 2009, Phase II was completed by installing a multi-use path that extends east along River St. from Galena Ave. to IL Rt. 2. In 2016, the City was awarded its first $2 Million Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program (ITEP) grant. The City started planning for Phase III of the Master Plan which was followed closely by 2 more ITEP grant awards.
The City has spent the last 6 years preparing the Viaduct Point site for this moment. In 2017 the first round of environmental assessments were started through our Brownfield Grant program headed by Fehr Graham. A second round of in-depth environmental assessments happened in 2018. These assessments allowed our environmental specialist with Fehr Graham to test the Dixon Iron and Metal Company (DIMCO) site for hazardous materials and start planning for a clean-up process. Once that was completed, the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) took the next step of completing a Time Critical Soil Removal that took place in 2019 and 2020. The USEPA also completed Time Critical Sediment Removal in 2021. To date, the USEPA has completed $4 Million dollars of work at no cost to the City. This brought the site back into compliance with USEPA guidelines. The city is committed to providing our citizens and visitors with safe gathering places.
To date, the city has been awarded $5.65M in ITEP (Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program) funding from the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to install multi-use paths at the Riverfront throughout Viaduct Point. The Illinois Department of Transportation has played an integral role in providing guidance and support during this time. In 2021, the City was awarded a $12 Million RAISE grant to help us complete Phase IV the Riverfront Development Master Plan. This is the final phase of the Riverfront Development Master Plan.
Fehr Graham and Associates completed the engineering for Phase III of the Riverfront Development Master Plan which will add approximately 2 miles of in new multi-use pathways. Martin and Company will be the contractors completing the work.
“This groundbreaking is the culmination of years of work.” said Matt Heckman, Assistant City Manager. “It is an exciting day for our community, and a day to pay tribute to those who have worked tirelessly over the years to bring this to fruition. Many thanks to the Riverfront Commission and community volunteers, US EPA, Illinois EPA and IDOT, Fehr Graham Engineering and Environmental and all who have aided us on this journey.”