Just in time for Labor Day weekend (hey, second post in a week starting like that), the DOT has completed a big part of a long-term project.
The US 30 exit at IA 21 opened last Wednesday, the DOT said in a press release. This includes a 2-mile segment of four-lane road from X Avenue in Tama County to about 11th Avenue in Benton County. (Benton’s names for north-south roads start with 10th Avenue on the Tama County line and increment by 1 for each mile, with “Avenue Drive” on the half-miles.) This completes four-lane 30 in Tama County.
Jim Magdefrau reported that at last week’s Benton County Supervisors meeting, the county engineer said the DOT told him that the other connection to Belle Plaine, V40/old IA 131, will close tomorrow.
About 12 miles of US 30 remain to be upgraded to four lanes in Benton County. Part of that remains on the original road, but the eastern part has been moved to the new pavement. There is a notable leveling of the ground that needs to be done for the other two lanes. A new two-lane might be completed between 21 and the Keystone corner by the end of the year. The five-year plan has nothing in FY24, but that likely means everything has been bid out already.
Speaking of four-lane upgrades, I updated the four-lane highway completion timeline to take the newest five-year plan into account. Some stuff on US 61 has been delayed, so the timetable for completing 30 in Benton County may be what determines if any new segments open in calendar 2024.