Published on June 30, 2026 8:12 am
Last Updated on June 30, 2026 8:14 am
The City of Effingham will host a ribbon cutting on Wednesday, July 1 at 9:00 am. This is the formal opening of a new portion of Santa Maria Avenue from Maple Street to Fourth Street and the pond at the Workman Sports and Wellness Complex.
The primary construction effort was on Santa Maria Avenue. A half mile of new sanitary sewer, water main, storm sewer, curb and gutter, sidewalk, and a concrete street were built on Santa Maria. Additionally, Fourth Street was reconstructed from Santa Maria Avenue to Santa Fe Avenue, allowing full reconstruction of the intersection of Fourth Street and Santa Maria Avenue. Additionally, the project was used as an opportunity to add a 1.5-acre pond as an amenity for the people of Effingham. The Effingham Park District will take ownership of the pond and has plans to stock the pond for fishing. Lastly, the project added a parking lot south of the new pond and added to Harmony Playground parking lot.
This $5.3 million construction project was completed by Feutz Contractors, Inc. of Paris, Illinois. The engineering design and inspection for this project was performed by Milano & Grunloh of Effingham. Funding for the project was through Effingham’s first Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District, TIF-1. This TIF District expired in 2019, with the remaining funds used to construct this project.
The public is invited to attend this ribbon cutting at the west end of the project. Attendees can park at the Workman Sports and Wellness Complex.
