NewsTrack: Gateway Project still in planning stages

Background

Iowa City's Gateway Project was born from the 2008 flood that closed down Dubuque Street, the city's main entrance, for several weeks. City staff have been designing plans to elevate Dubuque Street and reconstruct a new Park Road Bridge, a project that met some criticism last year when residents voiced concerns of the impact such a project could have on nearby homes, scenery and trees.

What's happened since

Nearly seven years have passed since record flooding rocked the state and, while much has changed in terms of flood mitigation since 2008, Iowa City officials are still working to protect the community's gateway from future flooding.

It's also been close to one year since the Iowa City Council gave the green light to plans to elevate Dubuque Street and rebuild the Park Road bridge - a roughly $50 million mitigation plan called the Gateway Project.

But that's not to say city staff hasn't been busy preparing the project design for the next update to the council.

'Just because we haven't been in the public spotlight doesn't mean it's gone away,” said Melissa Clow, special project administrator. 'There's definitely a lot going on.”

Most of the work lately has involved meticulous planning for the utility updates and changes necessary for the street overhaul and some very-beginning looks into the aesthetics of the project, Clow said.

'That's turned into the big puzzle we're trying to solve,” she said.

Staff initially had planned to present city council with the next update on the project in February. But Public Works Director Ron Knoche said that likely will take place in March.

'We really haven't had an opportunity to go back and look at the aesthetic features within the Corridor,” Knoche said. 'We wanted to have some new information to bring them.”

Clow said staff members have completed about 30 percent of the final design, with the idea of reaching 50 percent by this spring.

Plans are on track to begin construction in the spring or early summer of 2016, with work likely to take place through the start of 2018.

Early design plans for the Gateway Project were met with opposition from area residents who live near the project site due to concerns over its size and the possible harm to trees and a bluff next to Dubuque Street.

Following several public meetings and forums, the council approved a scaled-down project that would elevate the stretch of Dubuque Street near City Park to one foot above the 100-year flood level while reconstructing a through-arch style Park Road bridge at the 200-year level.

The council's decision ultimately was lower than city staff's recommendation to reconstruct Dubuque Street between Foster and Kimball roads to one foot above the peak flood water in the historic 2008 flood. At the same time, it was the lowest the city could go to keep a $10.5 million federal grant for the project.