Starting today, traffic on part of US 61 between Burlington and Mediapolis will move to new southbound lanes for construction of northbound lanes, according to a DOT press release.
This step is important because it moves much and maybe all of the traveled route onto a new alignment. From the south end of the future Mediapolis bypass to 160th Street, new SB 61 is just east of present. Then, with a bend to avoid the historic Franklin Mills School, all four lanes move to west of present. (This switchover may be where not all of the new lanes open today.) From 130th Street to Plank Road, all four lanes of 61 diverge from paralleling the present route, onto a straighter road and smoother curve on the west. Here’s where the move to the new SB lanes changes travel most.
Maps from five years ago show the whole planned four-lane from the north side of Burlington to a mile north of IA 78.