Category Archives: Construction

Nov 04

The Avenue of the Saints’ only left turn … is staying

The DOT has a public meeting video and PDFs for changes at IA 27/58 at Ridgeway Avenue and US 20. The Ridgeway intersection and the diamond interchange are not going away. The biggest change is the addition of a left-turn lane … Continue reading

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Oct 26

Nora Springs bridge to be replaced

August 4, 2015: The old US 18 bridge on the west side of Nora Springs. The century-old bridge across the Shell Rock River in Nora Springs will be replaced next year, KIMT reports. The bridge was a showcase piece in … Continue reading

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Oct 12

Notes for October 2020 letting

Things I noticed about the October 2020 DOT bid letting, scheduled for next week: One sign project is concentrated in two areas: Cedar Rapids and Jones County. The former is replacing a lot of gore signs (the “EXIT” where you … Continue reading

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Sep 24

Youngville US 30/218 exit open

August 8, 2009: This view on westbound US 30 is now a historic one, buried underneath the north base of a bridge for US 218. The four-lane stub ended up not used as the roadbed was shifted slightly. The much-desired, … Continue reading

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Sep 22

Ankeny exit to open in stages

Iowa’s second diverging diamond interchange, I-35 at 1st Street in Ankeny, will begin to open this week. It will be a long process, beyond the delay announced earlier this year. According to the DOT, 1st Street will open Thursday, and … Continue reading

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Aug 26

Southwest Arterial open; US 52 beside itself

The Southwest Arterial in Dubuque opened August 17. Stories: KCRG, KWWL, KDTH. (Sorry for the delay, but I’d been commuting an hour each way for more than a week and, well, *gestures omnidirectionally*.) As of Sunday, all US 52 signage … Continue reading

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Aug 07

Iowa’s oldest active four-lane has refreshment plans

US 75 between the north side of Sioux City and Merrill is the oldest four-lane road in the state system, in use for 70 years. But, as a road from 1949, it was not built to anything resembling expressway standards … Continue reading

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Aug 05

Southwest Arterial has a month to go

The long-awaited, long-under-construction Southwest Arterial in Dubuque County is nearing the finish line. KCRG reports the city is intending to open it around September 1, which would slightly beat the Labor Day expectation issued at the beginning of the year. … Continue reading

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Aug 03

Old Dubuque Road intersection closes permanently

Old Dubuque Road will have its north end at its intersection with four-lane 151 blocked off permanently today, reports the Anamosa Journal-Eureka. This will sever a link (or modern version of a link) in the path of 1920’s IA 28. … Continue reading

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Jul 15

Roundabout plan renewed for Urbana corner

In late 2016, after a multi-fatality crash at the IA 150 curve west of Urbana, the DOT started looking at ways to change the intersection. The first was a simple, obvious intersection. Traffic to and from Urbana (old IA 363) … Continue reading

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