Category Archives: Construction

May 16

Highlights, analysis of 2018-22 five-year plan

August 8, 2009: The Youngville Cafe will be preserved when an interchange for US 30 and US 218 is built in 2018. Ramps will be in the northwest and southeast quadrants, with a north-south bridge. An access road to the … Continue reading

Posted in Construction | Comments Off on Highlights, analysis of 2018-22 five-year plan
May 12

IA 17, I-80 meetings planned next week

The Iowa DOT has two public meetings planned next week. The first, Tuesday at the United school, is the next step in relocating IA 17 off the Lincoln Highway east of Boone. As I write this, the new plan is … Continue reading

Posted in Construction | Comments Off on IA 17, I-80 meetings planned next week
May 10

Leveling US 75

June 5, 2014: The southbound lanes of US 75 (left) are at a higher elevation than the northbound lanes between Hinton and Merrill, and then again north of Merrill. The stretch of US 75 from the north end of the … Continue reading

Posted in Construction | Comments Off on Leveling US 75
May 08

Muscatine remaking Mississippi Drive

Business US 61, or Mississippi Drive in downtown Muscatine, was handed from state to city control in 2014. Now the city is making good on plans for infrastructure improvements. Construction starts today, reports WQAD. The road level will be raised to … Continue reading

Posted in Construction | Comments Off on Muscatine remaking Mississippi Drive
May 04

Council Bluffs 2017 construction preview online

April 19, 2017: This sign, and the one beside it, are the oldest existing and last button-copy BGSs in Iowa. By the end of the year, the whole thing will be gone when a new alignment for westbound I-80 as … Continue reading

Posted in Construction | Comments Off on Council Bluffs 2017 construction preview online
Apr 07

US 30 Grand Junction overpass delayed

According to a short item in the Ogden Reporter, construction of a new US 30 overpass on the east side of Grand Junction has been delayed for at least a couple of weeks. The overpass is modern US 30 over … Continue reading

Posted in Construction | Comments Off on US 30 Grand Junction overpass delayed
Apr 06

Finally, a plan to six-lane I-35 to Ames

Next Tuesday in Huxley, the DOT will have a meeting about a project that’s at least 10 and probably 20 years overdue — upgrading I-35 to six lanes between Ankeny and Ames. This would be the first rural six-lane interstate … Continue reading

Posted in Construction | Comments Off on Finally, a plan to six-lane I-35 to Ames
Mar 31

A light at the end of the tunnel for I-29 in Sioux City

June 12, 2005: I-29 at the downtown exit in Sioux City, not too long before the state started a project to rebuild and expand the interstate through the city. The first photo with the news story linked below shows this … Continue reading

Posted in Construction | Comments Off on A light at the end of the tunnel for I-29 in Sioux City
Mar 22

Closing off an ancient curve, and Centerville’s IA 60 history

  Appanoose County in the 1948 (left/top) and 1951 Iowa Highway Commission state maps. Notice the non-existence of Lake Rathbun. Drake Avenue is shown as the north-south piece of IA 277, but it actually belonged to IA 60, as you will … Continue reading

Posted in Construction, Highway Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Closing off an ancient curve, and Centerville’s IA 60 history
Mar 17

US 20 detour starts next week

The detour for US 20 in western Iowa that originally was going to last through two winters but then discontinued will restart Monday, the Iowa DOT says in a press release. Construction will go on throughout the year, pushing ever … Continue reading

Posted in Construction | Comments Off on US 20 detour starts next week