Category Archives: Construction

Mar 18

IA 21 at US 30 to close for up to 20 months

At the end of this month, construction will begin on the IA 21 interchange with future four-lane US 30. The space is pretty flat, so to build up land for an overpass (as with US 218), IA 21 will have … Continue reading

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Mar 02

Linn County’s oldest bridge to be replaced

A historic truss bridge in Linn County will be demolished and replaced this year, just short of its 150th birthday. The Bertram Road Bridge over Indian Creek just south of Mount Vernon Road was built in 1876, or at least … Continue reading

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Feb 25

The ghost of the Traer Sale Barn

The Iowa DOT’s migration of old construction plans to its online portal has revealed how fastidious its record-keeping is. The weak spot is that the plans don’t always indicate exactly what year the project was completed. Having the letting date … Continue reading

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Feb 23

Stop sign added on Winterset bypass

The US 169/IA 92 bypass on the west and north of Winterset will no longer have unimpeded traffic between the junctions. Today, the intersection with 8th Avenue becomes a four-way stop, the Iowa DOT says in a press release. A … Continue reading

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Feb 21

West Branch six-laning in two parts

Expansion of I-80 to six lanes from the present end of that section in Iowa City to just east of the West Branch exit is on the DOT’s five-year plan. Based on a construction letting, I think it’s being broken … Continue reading

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Jan 21

I-80 Iowa County rest area expansion plan

The Iowa DOT’s plan to expand parking at the I-80 eastbound rest area between the Victor and Ladora exits is available online. Construction is planned for late next year. KCCI reported that a rebuilt westbound rest area opened just before Christmas, … Continue reading

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Jan 12

Waverly-Janesville road will be upgraded

The 1914 map above shows the Red Ball Route north of Janesville shifting to the section line, once the railroad gets out of the way, in the southwest corner of Section 23. This kink, approximately 1/8 mile, was turned into … Continue reading

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Dec 10

IA 175 bridge detour in off-season

Earlier this week, IA 175 west of Mapleton closed for a bridge replacement. This complete shutdown over winter is unusual for Iowa construction. US 20 in western Iowa was going to be detoured through Galva and Schaller over both the … Continue reading

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Dec 03

New I-74 bridge fully open; old fully closed

Thousands of people turned out for the grand opening of the I-74 bridge on Wednesday. (I, sadly, was not one of them.) The Illinois-bound span fully opened Thursday night, and the last lane in use on the 1959 bridge was … Continue reading

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Nov 24

I-74 bridge walk precedes final opening

June 19, 2021: Construction cranes tower over the “basket handles” of the new I-74 bridge over the Mississippi River, as seen from the Bettendorf side. The last expected completion date of the Illinois-bound (southbound/eastbound) span of the I-74 bridge was … Continue reading

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