Jonesboro, AR — (JonesboroRightNow.com) — May 2, 2025 — As months of demolition detours come close to an end, the Downtown Jonesboro Alliance (DJA) will celebrate the upcoming reopening of Main Street and Washington Avenue, preceding the project’s completion with “Meet Me on Main.”
DJA Executive Director Sarah Doss said this event will celebrate the completion of the city’s Citizens Bank demolition project and the reopening of the roads. The event will be held on Thursday, May 8, from 4 to 8 p.m. on Main Street.
“We will celebrate on Thursday evening and the fencing blocking the road will be removed for good a couple of days following,” Doss said. “We are so excited for this block party style event.”
Like a typical downtown festival or event, the roads will be closed from 2 to 9 p.m. for the event to allow time for set up and tear down, she said.
Along with Entertainment District activities, it will feature local vendors, inflatables, food, and more as downtown restaurants and shops spill out into the street.
“This event will really showcase our downtown,” Doss said. “Our restaurants will have tables set up on Main for dinner service. We have invited our downtown nonprofits to come and set up booths, as well as other various vendors. Plus, we will have inflatables and live music too.”
According to Doss, this event is a collaboration with the City of Jonesboro, with Jonesboro Community Engagement Coordinator Lynette Hirsch helping prepare.
Hirsch said the DJA had approached the city about wanting to do something before the reopening of the roads.
“We’re looking forward to being fully accessible and nothing hindering that end,” she said. “It’s going to be beautiful. It’s safe and will have an open space and clear slate for whatever they want to do there.”
According to Hirsch, the celebration should take place a day or two before the roads reopen, weather permitting.
“The goal was to have the event prior to the opening because we did not want to shut down the roads right after we opened them,” Hirsch said. “I don’t know that our downtown businesses would appreciate us shutting down the roads right after we just opened them up again. We’re trying to be mindful.”
This week, crews have been working to place sod and seeding to establish grass cover and are scheduled to work on asphalt overlays and traffic signal reinstallation next week.
Parts of Main Street have been shut down since Sept. 25, 2024, when a bulge was noticed on the side of the former Citizens Bank building. The City Council voted in January to approve the demolition project through Nabholz Construction at an estimated cost of $3.25 million. Demolition began on March 10.