Downtown Bradford’s Main Street is nearly one step closer to getting a facelift.

A portion of a multimillion-dollar project in Bradford intended to replace aging street infrastructure, improve pedestrian safety and create a better-looking downtown is slated to go out for bid next month.

“We are working with our design engineering firm to finalize the design of Phase I improvements from Mechanic Street to Chestnut Street,” said Bradford Office of Economic and Community Development Executive Director Sara Andrews.

Phase one is estimated to cost $1.7 million with the total project cost to be approximately $4 million, she said. A $1.75 million state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Grant grant will support the first phase, expected to get underway this year.

Meanwhile, plans call for phases two and three to be under construction in 2019 or 2020, Andrews said.

“These improvements will replace aging (over 30 years old) street infrastructure, improve pedestrian safety and aesthetics in the city’s historic district,” Andrews said. “In addition to replacing the aging infrastructure and improving pedestrian safety, the planned streetscape improvements will serve to sustain the long-term economic viability of the city’s downtown core through the attraction of new businesses, create employment opportunities and expand the Historic District’s appeal as a regional destination.”

The OECD secured a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission to pay for the engineering design and inspection of the three-phase Main Street streetscape project. City officials hired Mackin Engineering Co. to conduct survey work and prepare the engineering design for streetscape improvements on Main, Pine and Congress streets.

It’s believed the city’s Main Street was last improved in the 1980s.