LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — It's been a long time coming. The City Center project in downtown Lexington is in the home stretch.
A big change is happening this weekend and it will affect traffic in downtown this weekend. The giant crane that has been a staple of the site since the days of "Centre Pit" is coming down this weekend.
But, the city skyline could see more development.
"Well, there may be more cranes. We have a lot of construction going on downtown as most people know, but, you know, the huge one is the Lexington Center and renovation. And it is the, it is a very large project, there are cranes there and it's ongoing," Mayor Linda Gorton told LEX 18.
The crane has been standing in Lexington for years and those who have worked on construction for City Center are excited to see it go, though they admit it was a fundamental reason they were able to build the structure.
"The crane is an integral part of the success of this site. The number of picks. Remember, we had two cranes and now we're down to one. But, all of our heavy lifting is doe by this crane," City Center Coordinator Ralph Coldiron explained
The project has been huge. The site uses an average of 350 construction workers a day. The 710 parking garage should also open up to the public in the next month.
"You're going to see the final touches being put on both the Marriot and the Residence Inn. We're working very closely with Marriot Global who's visiting our site every two weeks. So hopefully in the next 30 days we're going to be setting a date for the openings of the hotel," said Mayor Gorton.
Beginning Saturday morning at 3 a.m., two lanes of Main Street will shut down as the crane makes it's final descent. The closure is expected until the end of the weekend.
