Coming soon: Work on Cedar

MUSCATINE, Iowa How to get there from here was one of the main questions at the second of two public hearings Wednesday evening regarding the upcoming $3.5 million Cedar Street Reconstruction Project.

More than 70 residents came to the meeting at Muscatine High School to hear from project manager Bill Haag, of Koala Consulting Services, and city staff about some of the ins and outs of the project that is not likely to be completed until later this year.

But when all is said and done, "We're going to change the look of Cedar Street," Haag said.

Haag and City Engineer Jon Lutz reviewed the project with residents. The first part of the project will begin Monday, March 31, when workers close off the intersection of Cedar and Parham Street, and Cedar Street just east of Parham Street to the Stonebrook intersection will be closed (for more information, see the "Cedar Street road closings" elsewhere with this story).

This section of the project, as with the other sections of the affected roadway, will include the removal of culverts from the area, the additions of curb and gutter, road and sewer reconstruction, the addition of turning lanes by different intersections, a reduction in the steepness of the roadway's grade as it travels east and the construction of a bike path along the northern side of the street from Houser to Parham streets. There will also be limited sidewalks on the south side of the roadway. This first phase of the project might be over by June of this year, Haag said.

Similar reconstruction will take place in stages as the project progresses. In response to multiple questions from the audience, Haag said that residents would continue to have two-lane access to their properties during construction due to the staggered phases of the plan, planned detours, and temporary access roads.

Two intersections will see significant changes due to the reconstruction, Haag and Lutz said. The intersection of Cedar and the Muscatine High School access road will become a lighted intersection. However, construction on that area will not take place until the summer of this year, after the conclusion of the current school year.

In addition, planners will construct a roundabout at the juncture of Cedar and Logan streets. City officials said the idea behind the roundabout is to reduce traffic congestion and promote pedestrian use of the area, which is nearby the Muscatine Community Y and Logan Apartments.

"Traffic congestion should be much reduced," Lutz said.

However, some residents in attendance who live in the Imperial Oaks subdivision neighboring Cedar, also known as Oak Manor, questioned whether the unfamiliar roundabout format would cause more confusion and safety issues for motorists.

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Coming soon: Work on Cedar