Huntingburg approves $692,000 plan to rebuild Fourth Street base

Downtown Huntingburg took a costly step toward fixing one of its most visible problem spots when the Board of Public Works and Safety unanimously approved a $692,000 plan to rebuild the base under Fourth Street’s brick pavers. The work is meant to tackle the settling, rutting and loose bricks that have made the corridor difficult for drivers, merchants and pedestrians, while preserving the historic look that defines the street.

The plan calls for a concrete base beneath the existing pavers, a design city leaders view as a more durable fix than surface repairs or another round of patchwork. VS Engineering had laid out five options for the street, with prices ranging from $315,000 for an asphalt surface to the $692,000 full rebuild the board selected. The city’s argument for paying more is straightforward: Fourth Street has continued to deteriorate because traffic, stopping and accelerating at intersections have created valleys in the roadway over time.

The concern is not just structural. Chad Brian, owner of Huntingburg Grind Coffee and Tea, told the board he fell after tripping on a loose paver while walking between businesses. “I took a pretty bad fall yesterday. Just tripped on a loose paver walking from one business to another across the street,” Brian said. His injury underscored that Fourth Street’s condition has become a day-to-day issue for people moving through downtown, not simply an engineering problem.

The rebuild also reflects a longer history of investment in the block. In 2018, Huntingburg approved the Fourth Street Heritage Trail streetscape project at a bid price of $3,443,239 from Milestone Contractors of Bloomington, after budgeting about $3.32 million. That project added a new traffic signal at Fourth and Main Street/U.S. 231, a change the Indiana Department of Transportation was expected to refund at about $140,000. Radius Indiana also awarded the city a $200,000 Regional Impact Fund grant that helped pay for earlier improvements.

That earlier streetscape was designed to do more than dress up the block. It included modified parking areas that could be reconfigured for extra seating and special events, along with a walking and biking trail connection to the Heritage Trail and nearby Niehaus Park. The new Fourth Street repair continues that balancing act, trying to protect Huntingburg’s downtown character while giving the street a stronger base that officials hope will last longer and reduce future repairs.