MURPHYSBORO, Ill. (WSIL) -- Drivers will have to get used to construction zones on Route 13 across the street from the KFC-Taco Bell location in Murphysboro.
The building across the street from the dual restaurant was once the Walnut Street Manufactured Gas Plant that supplied energy to the city's street lights.
That was 100 years ago.
Today the site, complete with contaminated soil, is being revamped so it can be repurposed into a depot and dispatch center for the Jackson County Mass Transit District, according to Mayor Will Stephens.
"The soil there contains a lot of coal, tar and a lot of other chemicals that essentially were stored 20, 30, 40-feet underground in what were called 'deep wells'," Stephens said.
The building was demolished last fall as part of a voluntary cleanup project led by Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) and approved by the Illinois EPA.
Stephens says the contaminants were contained to the site and did not spill into drinking water sources or the Big Muddy River.
"It's far enough removed from [the river] that flood waters would never reach that particular area," Stephens said.
Cleanup is expected to last until next summer. Afterwards, ComEd will transfer property ownership to the transit district. The details about the potential transfer are unclear.
The transit district will use a $2 million grant to build its new depot and dispatch center.
"It's right there on Walnut Street. It would be easy to get in and get out for their buses," Stephens said. "It is out with the old in with the new at this point."
