MUSCATINE, Iowa –The completion of the two-year Mississippi Drive Corridor Reconstruction Project is approaching. Thanks to being able to do underground work on Phase 2 this past winter and before the potential spring floods, the project is ahead of schedule and looking to wrap up nearly a month and a half before the mid-November deadline.
But the closer that date for reopening comes, the harder (and seemingly slower) the work becomes. It is that last little bit of work … the cleaning, sealing, painting, landscaping, installation of signage, and inspection of the project … that has the reopening of Mississippi Drive pushed back into early October.
City project managers have tentatively set the reopening for the close of the work day on Friday, Oct. 5. However, that may change and the official announcement of the reopening will wait until after a final inspection of Mississippi Drive from Broadway to Mulberry Avenue that is tentatively scheduled for October 4.
Work will continue over the next week to complete the “punch list” of items that needed finished during the first inspection of the corridor project on Sept. 14. Included on that list is the mowing of the grass along the bluff area which began on Wednesday (Sept. 26) and continues the rest of this week. Drivers are urged to watch for flaggers who will be in place during the mowing operations on Mississippi Drive.
October 5 is also the tentative date set for the opening of 2nd Street from Mulberry Avenue to the Oak Street intersection. Final work in that intersection is expected to wrap up Monday or Tuesday which would allow for final inspection and completion of “punch list” items.
Muscatine Power & Water has installed and tested the traffic control devices for the Oak Street intersection and expect to wrap up work Monday while Heritage Landscaping and Hardscape Solutions were on hand to complete the median west of Oak Street.
The final piece for the Mississippi Drive Corridor Reconstruction Project will be the completion of work on 2nd Street from the railroad crossing east to Mad Creek. That work will begin once the Oak Street intersection is opened and start with the installation of a temporary lane from Oak Street up 2nd Street to Family Dollar.
KE Flatwork plans to close 2nd Street at Mad Creek as early as Oct. 8 but the temporary lane will allow for access to Family Dollar from the Oak Street intersection. The completion of underground work and reconstruction from the railroad east to Mad Creek is expected to take three-to-four weeks.
WEST HILL SEWER SEPARATION
Four blocks of 7th Street were paved Tuesday with KE Flatwork now preparing to complete the intersections of Chestnut, Pine, Linn, and Spruce. Once the intersections have been poured, KE Flatwork will begin to work up 7th Street from Iowa toward Spruce to complete each block one at a time (sidewalks, backfilling, and landscaping will be completed in each block before the contractor moves to the next block).
Once these four blocks have been completed and reopened to traffic, KE Flatwork and KMA Excavating will complete the final portion of Phase 4A that includes 7th Street from Spruce to Locust, Spruce from 7th Street to the #7 Alley, and Locust from 7th Street to the #7 Alley. A date for the completion of Phase 4A has not been announced as yet.