116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Good news, bad news for downtown Iowa City drivers
IOWA CITY — The good news for downtown drivers is that the right-hand turn lane from Riverside Drive to Burlington Street will reopen in early December.
The bad news is the project to replace the University of Iowa's underground steam distribution system then will move west, closing portions of Grand Avenue through the winter and spring.
'We're going gangbusters to get this all done before summer move-out,' UI senior construction project manager Rory Wiebel said, referring to mid-May, when thousands of students exit nearby residence halls.
The $10.6 million project, started in January, has caused lane closures at the busy intersection just west of downtown. Crews have been installing underground vaults and pipes to transmit steam from the power plant on the east side of campus to west-side buildings, including the UI Hospitals and Clinics.
The new pipes will replace those in steam tunnels, some of which were built before 1920 and are no longer structurally sound, Wiebel said. Workers will fill the tunnels with cement grout once the pipes are replaced.
Several underground vaults already have been installed.
The Dam Riser Vault installation, from Riverside Drive to the Iowa River, has been in progress since May, resulting in the turn lane closure on northbound Riverside Drive. Once that is done by Dec. 5, the project will shift to Grand Avenue, Wiebel said.
'At times, Grand Avenue will be reduced to one lane in some directions,' he said. 'We're working with the hospital to maintain emergency access.'
While the bulk of the Grand Avenue work will be done by April, the last phases of the project will continue through July.
One goal was to not overlap with Iowa City's $50 million Gateway Project, which will raise Dubuque Street and the Park Road bridge over flood levels. That work begins in April. Closure of Dubuque Street, a main entrance to campus from Interstate 80, will increase traffic on Riverside Drive, Wiebel said.
For updates on road and sidewalk closures related to the steam distribution project, check the UI's Access and Construction website and sign up for automatic email notifications.
Andy Abeyta/The Gazette Employees of American Piping Group work in a vault room this month below Grand Avenue at its intersection with Byington Road in Iowa City. The University of Iowa is in the middle of an $8.5 million project to replace underground steam tunnels, connecting the east-side power plant to the west side of campus. The main work is on schedule to be finished by mid-May, with finishing touches going into the summer.
A worker appears at the top of an access vault that goes 20 feet into the ground to give maintenance workers access to the steam pipes under the Iowa River in Iowa City.
Andy Abeyta/The Gazette Major steam tunnel work on the University of Iowa campus will shift to Grand Avenue and Riverside Drive, where portions of Grand will be closed through the winter and spring. Steam heating pipes, some dating back to before 1920, are being replaced.
This access hatch on Grand Avenue leads to a vault that gives workers access to steam pipes beneath the UI campus.
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