Road Report: Aug. 19, 2024

Construction season is here, so we’re back with our weekly look at what projects are done, where you’ll find traffic impacts and what’s scheduled next.

What’s underway

Sycamore & Sixth: Work on Sycamore Avenue and Sixth Street near Washington High School is nearing completion.

The last of the concrete work on Sycamore north of Sixth should be complete by Tuesday or Wednesday.

Crews will follow behind to perform some pothole patching, so Sycamore will be fully open in front of Washington by the time school starts this week.

Work on Sixth west of the Washington entrance also should be done before school starts, but the work on Sixth between Sycamore and the school entrance won’t be complete for a few more weeks.

The pavement on Sycamore between Sixth and 10th streets, as well as on Sixth between Sycamore and the school entrance will receive a diamond grind in a few weeks as well.

This is a process where variations in the pavement are ground smooth to provide for a smoother ride for motorists.

Sycamore north of Sixth will receive an asphalt overlay in 2025.

Prairie at 10th & 11th: Work began last week at the intersections of 10th Street and Prairie Avenue and 11th Street and Prairie to install traffic signals and perform sidewalk improvements.

Work currently is focused on installing the underground infrastructure necessary to operate the future traffic signals, constructing new bump-outs to reduce the distance pedestrians have to travel across the street and reconstructing the accessible curb ramps.

This phase of the work is expected to be complete in mid-to-late September. 

Later this fall, the traffic signals themselves will be installed when they are delivered to the site from the manufacturer.

18th Street: The eastbound lane on 18th Street closed between Willow and West avenues Aug. 14 to allow crews to perform concrete repairs. Eastbound traffic has been shifted to the center turn lane. This work is expected to be complete in about two weeks.

26th Street: The westbound lane on 26th Street closed between Menlo and Spring avenues Aug. 15 to allow crews to make repairs to the accessible curb ramps. Westbound traffic has been shifted to the center turn lane during construction. This work is expected to be complete in about three weeks.

What’s next

Bahnson & 10th: Beginning today, the northbound left turn lane on Bahnson Avenue at 10th Street will be closed and the traffic signals turned off to allow crews to replace the traffic signal controller cabinet. No left turns will be allowed from northbound Bahnson onto 10th, but traffic will be allowed to turn right onto 10th. This work is expected to be complete in about one week.

Minnesota Avenue: Beginning today, the outside southbound lane on Minnesota Avenue will be closed at Blackhawk Street to allow crews to install a driveway approach. This work is expected to be complete in about one week.