MUSCATINE, Iowa – Iowa Avenue will be closed to traffic from 7th Street through the 8th Street intersection starting Monday, Aug. 26, 2019, according to project managers for the City of Muscatine. Iowa Avenue has been closed from the #7 Alley through the 8th Street intersection since June, but that closure will be extended south to 7th Street as work begins to reconstruct the pavement in that block.
The work is part of Phase 4B of the West Hill Sanitary and Storm Sewer Separation Project.
Phase 4B is focused on 8th Street from Cedar to Linn along with potions of Sycamore, Iowa, Chestnut, Pine, and Fuller streets. Underground work has been completed to the Chestnut Street intersection with KMA Excavating, the underground subcontractor, working on completing the new sanitary sewer from Chestnut to Linn. That work will be followed by installing the new storm sewer and wrapped up with a new water main.
The Pine and Fuller intersections are fully closed due to the underground.A detour for parishioners attending St. Mathias has been established by the City with signage in place along the detour route.
Paving of 8th Street has been completed through the Iowa intersection with KE Flatwork, Inc., crews working on sidewalk and driveways, backfilling with clean dirt, and seeding the 100 and 200 blocks of East 8th Street. Traffic is still restricted on those two blocks.
Sycamore Street has also been repaved from 7th to 8th with the street now open to through traffic.
Sycamore Street will be reopened to through traffic beginning this weekend according to City of Muscatine project managers. KE Flatwork,Inc., has completed work in the Sycamore and East 8th Street intersection and will be moving the barricades.
The Phase 4B contract calls for the work to be substantially complete by November 22.
FULL DEPTH PATCHING PROJECT - Full depth patching has moved to South Houser Street with one lane closed to traffic from Musser Street to Grandview Avenue as Heuer Construction works on repairing the pavement. A temporary traffic light is being used at both ends of the extended lane closure for traffic control.
Drivers are advised to use alternate routes if possible and to use caution when travelling through the work areas.
North Houser Street patching work has been completed with this section from Lucas to Hershey (Houser Hill) now open for traffic.
South Houser Street the second of five sections that are scheduled to be repaired during the 2019-2020 fiscal year under a $919,875 Full Depth Patching contract with Heuer Construction. Other sections to be repaired include Lake Park Boulevard from 2nd Avenue to Park Avenue, University Drive from Highway 61 to Highway 22, and, if time and money permit, Fulliam Avenue from Kindler to Devitt and from Houser to Green Acres.
LOT 7 BIO-RETENTION CELL – Department of Public Work crews continue work on the bio-retention cell in City of Muscatine Parking Lot 7 (across from City Hall) with placement of permeable pavers taking center stage as the week ends. Finishing the bio-retention cell with dirt and mulch along with striping of the parking areas may be completed next week. City officials tentatively believe that leased parking will resume before the end of August. Follow along with the project on the Stormwater Operations page on the city web site.
2ND & MULBERRY ROUNDABOUT – The Muscatine City Council approved awarding the $2.1 million contract for construction of the 2nd Street and Mulberry Roundabout to Heuer Construction at the August 15 meeting. Construction is tentatively scheduled to begin on September 15 but may change based on the timetable developed during the pre-construction meeting in early September.
Project managers for the City of Muscatine will be holding meetings with all business owners along the 2nd Street corridor from Oak to Pine before and during the construction process. The first meeting is scheduled for September 4.
Underground work in the intersection will be completed first with City project managers hoping to be able to have the intersection repaved before the winter construction shut down. The construction work will be completed in stages to keep any disruption to business at a minimum.
In addition to awarding the construction contract, the Council also approved the contract for the demolition of one of the two buildings that will be removed to make room for the roundabout. Valley Construction was awarded the $26,500 contract to demolish and remove the building at 515 East 2nd Street. The City is now in the process of preparing to request bids for the demolition and removal of the second building
ALLEY ASPHALT OVERLAY PROJECT – The 2019-2020 Alley Asphalt Overlay Project is on hold with the Muscatine City Council approving the request to rescind the awarding of the contract and to reject all previous bids. City officials are determining whether to rebid the project this year or wait until the 2020-2021 fiscal year. A total of 11 alleys were listed in the project for 2019-2020 with $100,000 budgeted for the work. Not all of the alleys would be completed this fiscal year, however.
--
Updates on the work will be available on the City of Muscatine web site (www.muscatineiowa.gov/construction) and on the City of Muscatine social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram).