MUSCATINE, Iowa – The Grandview Avenue Corridor Project will be pushed to the 2021 construction season after the Iowa Department of Transportation informed the City of Muscatine that it will be unable to finalize the review of the plans and specifications for the project until sometime this summer.
The plans and specifications were approved by the Muscatine City Council during the January 16, 2020, regular meeting but those plans and specifications must be reviewed by the Iowa Department of Transportation before being put on the bid calendar.
The delay in the state review prompted the Department of Public Works to recommend delaying the bidding and construction until 2021.
“This delay could prove beneficial on several fronts,” Brian Stineman, Department of Public Works Director, said. “The delay will allow us more time to finalize the alignment of the required 30-inch redundant force main sewer that needs to cross Grandview Avenue.”
Stineman also noted that delaying the bidding process until January or February of 2021 would be beneficial to the cost of the project since better prices are usually bid during those two months of the year.
“With all of the projects going on in the next few years, this delay would give the community a breather,” Stineman said. “We certainly could have handled a late summer construction start but we feel that this delay is a positive for the City and for the community.”
The two-year Grandview Avenue Corridor Project plans to replace and widen the pavement, add sidewalks, and include the use of “green infrastructure” to create a better environment for pedestrian and vehicular traffic, and for present and future businesses along the corridor.
The project is tentatively scheduled to be completed in two phases over a two-year period to minimize the impact on residents and businesses, and to minimize road closures. The first phase will be completed in 2021 and include work from Pearl to Musser. The second phase will be completed in 2022 and include work from Musser to Houser Street.
The goals of the project are to modernize Grandview Avenue, provide a safe and attractive corridor, improve pavement and utility infrastructure, and enhance the walkability of the Grandview Avenue corridor with enhanced pedestrian opportunities and the incorporation of “green infrastructure”.
REDUNDANT FORCE MAIN PROJECT
The purpose of this project is to design and construct a 3,700 foot redundant force main for sewer from Musser Park to the Water and Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF), also known as the Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP), which can also be used as a redundant line for the plant effluent water to the Mississippi River.
This project includes the study of the existing conditions with regards to the current force main, concept design, and estimated costs for two alternatives for the line and associated work. Final design and construction cost estimate for the selected option and acquiring Canadian Pacific Railroad (CPR) and US Army Corps of Engineer (USACE) permits for this project crossing CPR right-of-way and modification to the Mississippi River Levee for the effluent line are also included in the project.
The redundant line was mandated in an Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) Consent Order stemming from the October 2017 discovery of a leak in the Papoose Lift Station force main line to the WRRF. The redundant line is required to be completed by December 31, 2023.
The redundant line would cross Grandview Avenue at Musser Street. The existing force main and effluent discharge line runs in nearly a direct line from Musser Park to the WRRF. A four-foot long rip in the bottom of the pipe near the intersection of Day and Nebraska streets was discovered October 30, 2017, with repairs not completed until February 12, 2018. The rip and subsequent repairs resulted in the force main being shut down and untreated wastewater being discharged into the Mississippi River.
STILL GOING TO BE A BUSY 2020 CONSTRUCTION SEASON
Moving the Grandview Avenue Corridor Project to 2021 will ease some of the traffic problems expected during the 2020 construction season with a variety of public works projects either underway or anticipated to begin in the near future.
- Currently underway is the 2nd Street and Mulberry Avenue Roundabout Project with an expected completion date of late April or early May depending on the weather. Underground work is underway with pavement restoration expected to begin in mid- to late-March. Mulberry Avenue is currently closed from the #1 Alley to 3rd Street and 2nd Street is closed from Mulberry Avenue to Orange Street. Eastbound traffic on Mississippi Drive is detoured at Iowa Avenue to 5th Street to Park Avenue. The detour will remain in effect until the project is completed.
- A timeline for the 2nd Street Streetscape Project has not been determined as yet. The two-year project is comprised of sidewalk replacement, roadway and utility work, and streetscape landscaping from Pine to Mulberry Avenue. Tentatively work is set to begin at the Pine Street end of the project in late Spring or early Summer.
- The Park Avenue Four-to-Three Lane Conversion Project is scheduled for the 2020 construction year. The project will convert Park Avenue from four-lanes to two with a center turn lane from Harrison Street to the Mad Creek bridge. A June 16, 2020, bid letting is planned with more details on the project released after that date. No detours are planned during the work but there will be lane restrictions.
- Phase 4C of the West Hill Sanitary and Storm Sewer Separation Project (WHSSSSP) begins either March 2 or March 9 depending on the weather. The first stage of the project will occur on Iowa Avenue from 8th to 9th Street and on 9th Street from Iowa Avenue to Chestnut Street. Sewer separation and pavement restoration work will also be undertaken on Maiden Lane and Roscoe Avenue, Linn Street from 7th to 8th Street, and on 8th Street from Linn to Broadway. The detour for Phase 4C will be implemented once work begins on 8th Street with regular traffic detoured to 7th Street from Cedar to Broadway. The 7th Street detour will be modified once underground work reaches the Broadway intersection on 8th Street.
- Construction of the West Side Trail on Houser Street will resume in early March. Lane restrictions can be expected on Houser Street from Lucas to Crossroads, Inc., during working hours. Most of the trail should be completed by mid-summer, depending on the weather, with a short segment through the Arbor Commons subdivision the last to be completed.
- The final two sections of the 2019-2020 Full Depth Patch Project are located on Fulliam and will be completed after school is dismissed for the summer. The first section to be completed will be from Houser to Green Acre Drive followed by the section from Kindler to Devitt. Plans for the 2020-2021 Full Depth Patch Project are being developed and should go out for bid later this Spring.
- The 2019-2020 Alley Asphalt Overlay Project will begin once the asphalt plants reopen for the 2020 construction season. A total of 11 alley segments are on the list for asphalt overlay. The proposed alleys are: 400 block of Busch Street; Grover and Charles (New Hampshire to Hershey); Salvation Army at Oregon and Illinois (Earl to Baker); Bond and Bleeker (Grandview to Liberty); Iowa and Sycamore (East 9th to East 10th along with East 10th to East 11th); Taylor and Clinton (New Hampshire to Hershey); Hawthorne and Washington (Orchard to Park); Hagerman and Lorenz (Terrace H eights to Roscoe); 4th Street Park alley (Locust between 3rd and 4th streets); and Pine and Linn (3rd to 4th streets). Plans for the 2020-2021 Alley Asphalt Overlay Project and the 2020-2021 Street Asphalt Overlay Project are being developed and should go out for bid later this Spring.