Highway 18 project coming to a close

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

The state highway resurfacing project that has posed some traffic challenges through Charles City since the spring will be completed by the end of next week, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation.

Pete Hjelmstad, Iowa DOT District 2 field services coordinator, told the Press that the only work remaining on the Highway 18 project in town is to get power to the new traffic signals.

“That should be done by the middle of next week,” he said.

East of town the only things left are to mill in the rumble strips and do some seeding, he said, and that should be finished by the end of the week.

The project — hot-mix asphalt resurfacing from Gilbert Street to the Chickasaw County line — is running right on schedule, having been originally expected to be completed by mid-October, according to the Iowa DOT’s New Hampton construction office.

The $4.6 million project included milling off the existing surface of the highway and then putting down a 3-inch layer of fresh asphalt.

Concrete curbs and gutters and storm sewers were installed along the route where there hadn’t been any previously, from F Street west to the Charley Western Trail, and sidewalks were updated to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, including curb ramps and tactile paving markers.

The new traffic signals were installed at the Grand Avenue and Clark Street intersections, and new pedestrian signals installed at the F Street intersection by Lincoln Elementary School.

Asked if there was anything interesting or surprising about the project, Hjelmstad said, “No, and that’s good.”

“We do really want to thank everyone for their patience during the construction season and hope they enjoy the results of the project,” he said.