CHAMPAIGN – A lane of North Neil Street should be reopened by Feb. 13, ending a three-month closure of the downtown street, according to a city official.

Meanwhile, following a local complaint, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has told the Oakbrook Terrace company demolishing the fire-damaged 215 N. Neil St. building to take steps to control dust leaving the demolition site.

Deputy City Manager for Development Craig Rost said Tuesday that the city has a commitment to reopen a lane of North Neil Street by Feb. 13 following talks with the owners of the building and the demolition company, Robinette Demolition Inc.

Asked if that date was tentative, Rost responded: "No, that's what we're counting on."

Two lanes of North Neil Street, just south of Main and Church streets downtown, have been closed to through traffic since Nov. 10. The closure by the city came three days after a fire destroyed the Metropolitan Building and damaged the adjacent 215 N. Neil St.

City officials closed the street after a structural engineer they hired said there was a real danger that the three-story 215 N. Neil St. building could collapse onto Neil. Some retail business owners in the 200 block of North Neil Street have since complained that the street closure hurt their businesses during the important Christmas shopping season.

The dust containment issue arose after the IEPA received a complaint Sunday that dust was leaving the demolition scene and spreading over parts of downtown, according to agency spokeswoman Maggie Carson. An IEPA inspector visited the scene Monday and confirmed there was a problem, she said.

"We told them they need to correct the dust problem," Carson said. "It's a definite violation of the Environmental Protection Act that they need to manage in some way."

The state agency did not shut down or cite the demolition project. "We instructed them what they're required to do," she said.

The best way to contain dust is to spray the building with water, which Carson conceded could present a problem with the bitterly cold temperatures that swept into the area Tuesday.

An agency inspector based in Champaign will revisit the site at some point to ensure compliance, she said.

Also visiting the site in coming days, she said, will be an asbestos inspector to make sure asbestos removal procedures are being followed.

"We have no indication there's an asbestos problem with the dust, but we will follow up with an inspection," Carson said. "We want to verify our preliminary observation" that there is no asbestos problem.