After heavy equipment digs holes for tower footings at the Springfield Bicentennial Plaza, a worker scoops up dirt and moves it across the lot.

Construction crews continue to make significant progress as they used heavy equipment to drill footings for towers at the site of Bicentennial Plaza – A REALTOR® Community Partnership in downtown Springfield

Just north of the Illinois REALTORS® offices, the towers will eventually hold large interpretative panels with messages that recognize significant moments of Springfield and Illinois history with an emphasis on diversity and minority relations. The project, which is expected to play a central role in the state’s 200th birthday celebration in August 2018, is part of an ambitious effort to connect the city’s historic downtown sites.

Workers discuss the afternoon plans at the site of Springfield’s Bicentennial Plaza.

Gary Clayton, Chief Executive Officer, Illinois REALTORS® describes the project as in the “demolition and site development stage.” Sewer lines and telecommunications cables have been relocated. In the near future, power lines will be reconfigured, and a former bank building that is partially razed will be completely removed.

General contractors and subcontractors will meet twice a month to discuss plans for the following two weeks. Weather will continue to play a role in the project’s progress.

Just off Fifth St., at the site of the future Bicentennial Plaza in downtown Springfield, workers use a drill to prepare for tower footings.

“We’re hoping for a mild winter, without a lot of precipitation in December and January,” says Clayton.