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Champaign council approves $62,130 Main Street viaduct fence amid dispute over homeless encampment
Summary
The council approved a $62,130 contract to install fencing at the Main Street viaduct, voting 6-1 after heated public comment and debate about whether fencing displaces unhoused people or protects public safety and businesses downtown.
The Champaign City Council on Sept. 16 approved a $62,130 contract to install a fence at the Main Street viaduct, voting 6-1 to accept the low responsive proposal from Century Fence Company of Pewaukee, Wisconsin.
The measure, Council Bill 2025-163, passed after public commenters and council members debated whether the fence — and a plan for gates — is a temporary measure to manage safety and sheltering under the viaduct or an avoidance of wider homelessness solutions.
The council’s action authorizes the city manager to execute the agreement for installation of fencing at the Main Street viaduct. City staff said the Wisconsin bidder was the lowest responsible proposer and that local…
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