COTTAGE GROVE – Downtown Cottage Grove has been under construction since February 2025. Last Friday night, City officials administered a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the long-awaited two-way traffic through historic Downtown.
After almost a year of heavy equipment, caution tape, and traffic cones being staples along Main Street, the community showed appreciation for the opening of the five blocks that construction took over. Crowds gathered on both sides of 7th and Main streets to watch the ceremony.
“This is a huge milestone,” Faye Stewart, public works director, said. “We are really lucky to be able to drive all the way through at four o’clock by the end of the day, the entire road’s going to be open,” he said.
Traffic was temporarily stopped while a long red ribbon was held across the road and snipped by a giant pair of scissors brandished by Mayor Candace Solesbee. Folks cheered, and vehicles honked as they passed by.
The project’s effort is rooted in the City’s long-term planning, specifically the Main Street Refinement Plan adopted in 2016.
The project was funded mainly through a $5 million federal grant awarded by the Economic Development Administration (EDA), which was financed by the American Rescue Plan (ARP).
This federal investment is matched by $1.3 million in local funds, totaling over $6.3 million to upgrade five blocks of the historic commercial district. The project focused on new utilities, accessibility improvements, street paving, and landscaping.
Shiny black metal benches and new green water fountains were included in the renovation. Christmas lights, garlands, and wreaths wrapped around new lamp posts.
With an initial goal to be finished by the end of the year, project manager Shauna Neigh said the project has been on track, and even a little ahead of schedule. According to Neigh, the final touches of the project include landscaping, such as adding shrubbery and trees.
