As everyone in Clear Lake has probably noticed, N. 8th St. at the railroad crossing was blocked to through traffic as of 6 a.m. on Monday, April 22. Road work was necessary due to a crack found in the main rail of the Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railroad. The work is expected to be complete and the intersection open on Friday, April 26.
“So we have finally come to some agreements and gotten a plan together for the railroad restoration. The plan is to close that intersection off, like we did when the initial work happened, starting Monday morning, the 22nd. We have a contractor that will come in and replace the concrete. We’re actually gonna do some more removals to make that transition better,” said Public Works Director Jeremy Korenberg at the April 15 City Council meeting.
As per a post on the City of Clear Lake Facebook page, Complete Concrete will begin the work, “… by handling additional removal and pouring back the cement section of the repair on Monday.” After a 48-hour curing period Heartland Asphalt will lay a two-foot asphalt buffer on both the north and south side of the tracks to meet CPKC specifications. Korenberg said, “Once that’s rolled we’ll be able to open it, obviously weather pending.”
Korenberg said that the City Works department will coordinate the traffic control and the railroad will provide a flagger to be on site until all the work is done. A portion of the sidewalk also needed to be removed. Korenberg said he discussed the issue with City Engineer Matthew Steding and they planned to remove additional portions of the sidewalk in order to make that section ADA compliant, similar to what they have on Buddy Holly Place. He said they needed to remove an additional four or five feet of the walkway to install detectable warnings in compliance with a railroad crossing. Alternate routes and detours were set up via N. 6th St. and N. 10th St.
Phase 1 of the Surf District’s Streetscape Project also began Monday, April 22 on N. Shore Drive. The city plans to keep one lane open for through traffic during this phase although occasional full road closures may be necessary. The community will be advised of the closures in advance on the City of Clear Lake Facebook page and this newspaper.
This project will be completed in three phases. The first phase will focus on North Shore Drive, from the new Music Enrichment & Immersive Center location on the west end, to the intersection of Buddy Holly Place and N. Shore Drive. This phase is anticipated to last roughly two months.
