Fulton businesses adapt as downtown construction enters final stretch

Fourth Street in downtown Fulton is in the middle of a transformation that is reshaping both the street’s infrastructure and the way local businesses operate.

A major overhaul that began in July is expected to wrap up by Nov. 1, about a month later than planned after the project was extended by one block. Work now runs from 10th Avenue to 13th Avenue and includes replacing water service lines with copper, installing new electrical systems and streetlights, replacing curbs and gutters, and pouring new Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant sidewalks.

“All the water services have been upgraded. They just finished that up yesterday,” City Administrator Eric Sikkema said, adding that crews would soon start forming the new sidewalks and work half a block at a time, with each section reopening a few days later.

City officials are also weighing whether Fourth Street should remain a two-way or revert to a one-way configuration, a change that would add 16 parking spaces, improve intersection visibility and make it easier for drivers to back out of angled spots. Video models of both traffic patterns were presented in March.

“As it’s planned right now, Fourth Street will go to a one-way heading north, but that can always change,” Sikkema said.

Funding for the $1.8 million project includes a $107,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture grant for sidewalks and lighting, about $550,000 from federal American Rescue Plan Act funds, and the remainder from city reserves. Planning began in 2021 after failed attempts to secure other grants.

“The road itself is only two inches of asphalt, and then it’s brick underneath… that brick had started to fail, and that was starting to cause a lot of potholes through our downtown,” Sikkema said. “None of our downtown met any ADA compliance… our street lighting was starting to fail. Seemed like every other bulb was starting to have issues, and it was time.”

The construction, combined with the Iowa Department of Transportation’s ongoing resurfacing of the North Bridge just a few blocks south, has posed challenges for downtown businesses.

Lori Shear, owner of Country Orchids, said street work has slowed walk-in customers, though most of her business comes through phone orders.

Jackie Wilkin, owner of Rooted Boutique and a member of the Fulton City Council, said the upgrades are overdue.

“I’ve owned this business for five years… and in my five years, I’ve seen three people fall on the streets and sidewalks because they’re in such bad shape. So it is a necessary evil,” Wilkin said. “There’s never going to be a good time to do this work, but I commend our city for investing the 2 to $3 million that it’s going to take to do it and make it better.”

However, Krumpets, a bakery and cafe on Fourth Street, told customers in a Facebook post that the overlapping bridge and street work has cut their daily revenue nearly in half. To adapt, the business is temporarily focusing on best-selling menu items, shortening hours and shifting mostly to take-out service while using the slowdown to renovate its dining area.

“Even with all of your loving support, the unfortunate circumstance of both of these projects coinciding has left us with a 45% drop in daily revenue. That’s unsustainable in our current format,” the post read.

A second phase of the Fourth Street work is planned for spring 2026, pending the outcome of a $3.1 million Illinois Department of Transportation Local Roads grant application. That phase would include downtown water main upgrades, repainting the city’s water tower and rebuilding the road from Ninth Avenue to 13th Avenue.

Work on the North Bridge, which carries motorists traveling Iowa 136 into Fulton, was originally expected to finish in early October. It has been delayed by material shortages and is now slated for completion in November.

“We’re just excited that we can finally move forward on this project and start making some necessary upgrades around town,” Sikkema said.