POST FALLS – Road-closed signs on Fourth Avenue soon will come down, signaling the closure of a $1.3 million project to revamp two blocks of downtown Post Falls.

Construction is moving along smoothly, city officials said during an update on the project at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

“It’s a long-awaited project, and it’s turning out beautifully,” Councilman Ron Jacobson said.

The project, begun last summer, is a partnership between the city of Post Falls and the Post Falls Urban Renewal Agency to spiff up a blighted area of town. The plans include repaving the cracked asphalt between Spokane and Idaho streets, giving it new curbs and sidewalks and installing decorative lighting and landscaping.

City officials have said they hope it will demonstrate how the area can be improved and ultimately motivate others to spruce up the downtown district. The project also will help establish a City Hall campus, with the new 41,000-square-foot City Hall scheduled to finish this spring, city officials said.

City officials cobbled together a variety of funding for the Fourth Avenue project, including a $500,000 Idaho Community Development Block Grant and $725,000 from the Post Falls Urban Renewal Agency.

So far, MDM Construction, the primary contractor for the Fourth Avenue project, has resurfaced the roadway, improved the storm water system, installed new curbs and gutters and placed bases for future decorative lighting.

Work has begun on new sidewalks, including the placement of in-laid brass fish. The plans also include a stain treatment for the sidewalks, but that may have to hold off until spring, said Sherri Wastweet, a contract specialist with the Panhandle Area Council, which is working with the city on the project.

Tree and shrub planters also have been installed, but planting also will wait until springtime, Wastweet said.

Fourth Avenue will reopen to traffic after roadway striping is finished, city officials said.

“It’s going to be a beautiful project,” Wastweet said, “especially once City Hall is open.”