Main Street Closed for Johnson City Arch Reconstruction Job

People driving on Main Street between Johnson City and Binghamton will encounter a detour for the next few weeks.

The busy thoroughfare has been shut down as workers prepare to reassembly the historic Square Deal Arch.

Fencing was erected around the project site Monday morning. Cranes and other equipment then were staged for the job.

The easternmost portion of Main Street in Johnson City has been closed for the Arch project. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)

Electronic sign boards on Main Street had indicated the detour would start this Thursday but that was incorrect.

Johnson City public works supervisor Timothy Sherman said pieces of the arch are scheduled to be delivered Tuesday.

Crews from Lupini Construction of Utica will reassemble the steel from and the concrete pieces of the iconic arch.

Equipment arrived on Main Street in Johnson City for the Arch project on October 5, 2026. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)

Sherman believes the final phase of the project can be completed in about two or three weeks if there are no weather issues or unexpected complications.

The structure was disassembled two years ago after experts determined the restoration work could not be accomplished with the arch remaining in place.

FLASHBACK: The Square Deal Arch as seen from Main Street in Binghamton on April 9, 2024. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)

A company near Rochester was retained to do precast concrete work.

The Square Deal Arch was built by Endicott Johnson Shoe Company workers. The arch and a similar structure on East Main Street in Endicott were dedicated on Labor Day 1920.

WNBF NEWS VIDEO: Workers prepared the Square Deal Arch site on October 5, 2026.

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com.