Eagle Grove residents and visitors have been taking detours around town all summer, but City Administrator Bryce Davis assures us that progress is being made…and the Broadway Street project is slated to be complete by mid-to-late October, 2021.
This past weekend, the 200 block of West Broadway (from Ben Franklin to First Bank) opened back up again for traffic and parking. It was a welcomed surprise for those business owners as well as the patrons who frequent them.
“Essentially, we’re at the point of going through and looking for punch-list items that have to be done,” explained Davis.
Also, the concrete also has specific curing times that need to be met. According to Davis, once those days are met, then he and others will walk the project again to look for any cracking or defects in the construction process. If any are found, they will be put on a list for the construction crew to fix.
“From the contractors standpoint, it’s substantially complete, but obviously if there are any issues in the future…they will have to come back and fix it prior to close-out,” said Davis.
Additionally, MidAmerican Energy has to come in and put the light posts back in place on both the 300 block and the 200 block. They have to do both at the same time because from an electrical standpoint, the 300 block is “fed through” the 200 block.
“I know (no lights) downtown has been a concern, it’s just how the electrical grid is fed on the ground,” said Davis.
They are not up yet because the underground is a little different. Before construction, they had a concrete footing. Now, they are in a screw-footing. As a result, MidAmerican has put up one pole (by Lewright Meats) to test settling, etc. before they put up all the other poles.
If you are one of the people who felt like the 200 block took longer to get to the “open” point than the 300 block did, Davis said that’s because the contractor used two crews on the 300 block to gauge timelines and construction schedules, and also because typically spring is rainier. When they got to the 200 block, they went to one crew anticipating less rain delays and having a better idea of how long it takes to complete a job. There was also more underground work for service lines and water/sewer to the businesses to be done on the 200 block.
Davis said the crew will most likely use only one crew going into the 100 block as well. However, depending on rain events and weather delays…they may come back and bring in a second crew.
“We can’t control that. The only thing we can control is the substantial completion date which is the end of October,” said Davis. “It’s a little bit too early to gauge whether they will maintain their ‘on time’ schedule. I anticipate that they will. We’ve got plenty of time left to pour concrete before it gets too cold,” said Davis.
When the 100 block is finished, the crew will go back to the west intersection of Hwy 17 and Broadway (by Jalapeno Grill and Broadway Vision Source) and reduce the radius of the bump outs by about 10’ (to look like the ones by Ben Franklin). Then they will go to the west side of Iowa and Broadway (where the Museum and the church sit) and make those regular corners – not bump outs.
“We believe that will help with truck traffic,” said Davis.
The city enlisted the help of Gold-Eagle who brought a 53’ semi with an experienced driver and asked them to stay in the right hand lane in the southbound lane. Their task was to make a right hand turn from the correct turning lane. Where the duallys went up on the current bump out is where it was marked to be backed up to.
“That’s a little more accurate than a computer modular,” said Davis.
Another change that will be made is to the ADA ramps that go to the parking area.
“We did that because I didn’t like the way they had people go to the street to get to the sidewalk…it’s not really a safe situation,” said Davis.
As a result, the change order calls for cutting out curb ADA sections so they can put the ADA and loadout right next to it, so there’s one in front of the Senior Center, in front of the Pharmacy…there will be two to three per block. Then there will be one on Iowa to get to the sidewalk. They may also add in a railing for safety purposes.
There is still also some work to be done on the pavers. There is space in the grout areas that need to be filled. After pebble rocks are poured in, they will come back and add a fine sand on top of it so it is all even and high heels won’t get stuck between them. All of the pavers will be filled when the 100 block has its pavers laid. Once all the items on all the blocks are complete, a sealant will be put in between the concrete and the buildings. It will be a grey seal to keep water from going between the concrete sidewalk and the buildings.
“And it will look better as well, so you don’t see any gaps between the two,” added Davis.
Fort Dodge Asphalt is a subcontractor to overlay fresh asphalt in the middle of the road. It was a change order issued for better appearance since there were several patches made for sewer and water lines, and a manhole added in the streets.
“I think that will make it look sharp,” said Davis.
Line painting down the center of the street and parking lines are hoped to take place this fall, weather permitting.
When the construction cycle of the project is complete, vegetation will be added to the dirt areas. That may not happen until spring 2022, depending on the weather this fall.
Overall, Davis believes they will be able to hit their October deadline on the overall Broadway Street project.
“We have all of our fixtures – our benches, planters, and things of that nature are already here. So once everything is done we will get those installed,” said Davis.
With the start of the third and final block in the project, it’s getting closer to the completion of the road work and being able to add the personal final touches.
One idea Davis is working on pricing and funding for is additional ambiance lighting.
“I would like to put in lighted bollards to go in the vegetation areas…to show a little more visual effect downtown,” said Davis.
Another thing they are looking at is the street lights. Many people have asked why they kept the old poles. There are a couple of reasons. One is that the new decorative poles do not allow for banners to be hung or outlets to light Christmas decorations. Our current poles do. To spruce things up, Davis is looking at catenary lights which are basically light bulbs that will span the side streets.
Davis is also excited that in the next few days downtown building fix-ups will begin.
“There will be a couple of substantial redesigns,” noted Davis.
The rest is new windows and some tuck-pointing, so expect some scaffoldings.
Along those lines, Davis said the City Council has legally authorized the assistance of downtown improvement for awnings, signs, etc. Watch for details to be published when the details are finalized.
“These new awnings will also make downtown look more attractive,” said Davis.
