MUSCATINE, Iowa – The intersection of Sycamore and 7th Street is now closed to traffic as KMA Excavating and KE Flatwork begin preparations to repave the intersection next week. The work will complete the reconstruction of the first two blocks of the West Hill Sewer Separation Project (WHSSP) Phase 4A from Cedar to Iowa.
KMA Excavating has also announced that the Pine and 7th Street intersection will be closed on Monday for three days for underground sewer work. Once KMA has completed work in the intersection millings will be placed down and the intersection will be temporarily reopened.
Phase 4A of the WHSSP has 7th Street reconstructed in two block stretches. Once KMA Excavating had moved past the Iowa intersection, KE Flatwork began preparing 7th Street from Cedar to Iowa for repaving. Once KMA moves past Pine Street and KE Flatwork has finished repaving work on the Sycamore Street intersection, crews will begin to prepare 7th Street from Iowa to Pine for reconstruction. Some work has already started along that stretch of the street.
Phase 4A includes 7th Street from Cedar to Locust and the 700 blocks of Locust and Spruce. Work began on the project April 30, 2018, and is expected to be completed by November 30, 2018.
High water delays 2nd Street work
Work on the 2nd Street storm sewer has been suspended due to high ground water levels but should resume next week as the Mississippi River continues to recede.
KE Flatwork indicated that the 60 inch storm pipe that was bored under the railroad track is filled with water and the continued high water table made it unsafe for crews as they work to replace the storm sewer from the railroad crossing east towards Mad Creek.
The delay in the underground work will also delay the closing of the Oak Street intersection with 2nd Street which is the next phase in the reconstruction project. KE Flatwork had hoped to close the intersection on July 16 but that date has been pushed back to July 23, weather permitting.
The section of 2nd Street from Orange to just west of Oak Street has been completed except for landscaping, brickwork, and signage installation. The Oak Street intersection will be closed for two months with the entire 2nd Street project from just west of Orange Street to Mad Creek completed by Nov. 12.
Mississippi Drive awaiting brick, landscaping subcontractors
The driving lanes have been poured and the median concrete work completed Friday (July 6) afternoon as work progressed on the Mississippi Drive Corridor Reconstruction Project (MDCRP).
KE Flatwork still has quite a bit of work to do at the Cedar Street intersection and is waiting for Canadian Pacific (CP) approval for and the installation of additional panels for the sidewalks across the railroad crossing. Muscatine Power & Water (MPW) is also waiting on the completion of the crossing and sidewalks at the intersection to complete installing the new traffic control devices.
During the meantime, subcontractors should be on site next week to begin placing the decorative brick in the median and to construct a monument at the Walnut and Mississippi Drive intersection. Also on hand will be the landscaping company who will begin to fill in the media area with plants.
Work on the section from Iowa Avenue to the #1 Alley on Mulberry Avenue is tentatively scheduled to be completed Sept. 27. If the weather cooperates, however, and no additional problems come up, this section could reopen closer to the first week of September.