MUSCATINE, Iowa – Mother Nature was certainly not the best friend of construction crews in Muscatine recently but she also did not prevent the various projects from moving forward. Work on completing the driving lanes and the Cedar Street intersection on Mississippi Drive continued this past week while 2nd Street from Orange to Oak was being prepared for paving, and the West Hill project on 7th Street is now into the Chestnut Street intersection.
OAK STREET DOWN TO ONE LANE JUNE 2
The 200 block of Oak Street will be down to one lane on Saturday (June 2) as HNI will be using a crane to move equipment to the roof of the building on the west side of Oak Street between 7:15 a.m. and 9:15 a.m.
100 BLOCK OF LINN STREET TO BE CLOSED FOR SIX WEEKS
The 100 block of Linn Street will be closed to traffic at the intersection with Mississippi Drive starting Monday, June 4, and the #1 Alley will also be closed at Pine Street for the next six weeks. Muscatine Power & Water (MPW) has contracted with Triple B Construction for underground electrical work that will connect the underground cabling along Mississippi Drive with the substation. The work is expected to take six weeks to complete with a tentative date of July 17 for reopening of Linn Street and the #1 Alley. There will be no parking on Linn Street while the work is ongoing.
MISSISSIPPI DRIVE (Sycamore to Mulberry)
KE Flatwork continues to work on the Cedar Street intersection and expects to begin work on the Walnut Street intersection within the next week. Most of the driving lanes have been poured with two short sections between Walnut and Cedar and the completion of the Mulberry intersection yet to be accomplished.
The revised tentative schedule for this portion of the Mississippi Drive Corridor Reconstruction Project has the rock, paving, and sidewalks completed by July 27 with landscaping, signage, and cleanup completed by September 28. The reconstructed Mississippi Drive should open to traffic in October pending completion of punch list items found during final inspection by City of Muscatine project managers and KE Flatwork officials.
City officials note that although the work appears to be slightly ahead of schedule, changes in the weather could delay the completion date. Mississippi Drive from Iowa to the #1 Alley on Mulberry Avenue will remain closed to traffic until all subcontractors (landscaping, brick work, signage, etc.) have completed their work.
2ND STREET (Mulberry to Mad Creek)
Underground work on 2nd Street from Orange Street to just west of Oak Street has been completed with that section now being prepared for paving by KE Flatwork. Paving of this section is expected to begin next week. However, the section will remain closed to most vehicular traffic as the rest of 2nd Street east to Mad Creek is completed.
The closure of 2nd Street from east of the Oak Street intersection to just west of the Family Dollar entrance is scheduled for June 11. KE Flatwork has contracted with a company to bore underneath the railroad tracks near the Oak Street intersection and they will be on hand that week to complete the task. This section of the street is tentatively scheduled to be completed on September 18.
Once the bore has been completed, the intersection at 2nd and Oak will be closed for reconstruction with a tentative completion date of October 1. KE Flatwork anticipates closing the final section of the 2nd Street project (2nd Street east of Family Dollar to Mad Creek) on October 1 with a tentative completion date of November 12.
A final walk through and completion of punch list along the reconstructed section of 2nd Street will be the last step before the street is reopened to all traffic in mid-November.
THE ROUNDABOUT
The roundabout at the Mulberry-2nd Street intersection is on hold at the present time but city officials hope to have the project out for bid this fall. The exact schedule has not been established pending the outcome of property acquisition. The roundabout design will be completed soon and ready for presentation to the City Council at the appropriate time.
City officials and project managers have been meeting with business owners affected by the 2nd Street work and those who would be affected by the roundabout project to listen to and address any concerns they would have.
7TH STREET (Cedar to Locust)
Work on Phase 4A (7th Street) of the West Hill Sewer Separation Project completed its fifth week and has moved into the Chestnut Street intersection. KMA Excavating began working in the 200 block of East 7th Street on April 30 and has now moved into the 100 block of West 7th Street. Phase 4A includes 7th Street from Cedar to Locust and the 700 blocks of Locust and Spruce.
KE Flatwork has started the process of preparing the completed sections for paving beginning with the Iowa Avenue intersection and working east toward Cedar Street. The paving of this segment will begin in June with a tentative date of July 1 to reopen the Iowa Avenue intersection. The two blocks of East 7th Street will reopen to traffic soon thereafter, but that depends on the weather and any issues that might arise during preparation of the base.
Drivers are reminded that the intersections of Iowa Avenue and Chestnut Street are closed and alternate routes should be planned and utilized. Drivers are also reminded that the 200 block of West 7th Street will be closed next week and the Pine Street intersection will be closed later in June as work moves up the 7th Street hill. Signage will be put in place and the City will announce when the closings occur.
The separation work will be accomplished on a block-by-block basis throughout the summer and fall of 2018. Parking will be allowed on the portions of the street unaffected by the separation work until crews from KMA Excavating begin the sewer separation work in specific blocks.
KE Flatwork, Inc., of Elbridge, Iowa, was awarded the $6.1 million contract for Phase IV of the West Hill Sewer Separation Project at the April 5, 2018 Muscatine City Council meeting. The contract spans three years with work completed in three phases.
Phase 4A is expected to be completed by November 30, 2018.
THE CONES OF DETOUR
Two detours were established for drivers to use as work progresses on 2nd Street. To bypass the construction work on 2nd Street drivers are urged to use 5th Street from Park Avenue to Mulberry Avenue (no trucks allowed on 5th Street from Park Avenue to Cypress) or use Washington Street from Park Avenue to Cypress then to 8th Street to Mulberry (truck traffic allowed).
In two areas (the intersection of Cypress and Washington and the intersection of 5th and Mulberry) cones have been set in the roadway. The cones divide a turning lane in half and keep traffic down to one lane. This, along with no parking signs on Mulberry approaching 5th Street, was set up to allow for larger vehicles with larger turning radius to be able to make the turn without damaging other vehicles or public property.
Drivers are asked to be cautious at these intersections and be alert to larger vehicles attempting to turn from one street to another.