Work on Oakdale Boulevard extension to start soon

CORALVILLE – By this time next year, driving through north Coralville should be much more convenient.

Johnson County and Coralville plan to start work in early 2012 on a project extending Oakdale Boulevard from near Pembrokeshire Drive to Dubuque Street to the east. The work is scheduled to be mostly done by the end of the year.

The new section is short at 0.7 miles, said Johnson County Engineer Greg Parker. But the result will be significant because Oakdale will run between Dubuque Street and Highway 965, which are major entry points to Coralville, North Liberty and Iowa City.

Johnson County is the lead agency on the project and is working with Anderson-Bogert Engineers and Surveyors.

The Coralville City Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the plan Dec. 13. The county's Board of Supervisors has already given its approval, Parker said.

The project is estimated to cost $4 million. A federal grant will provide $1.5 million, and Coralville and the county will split the remaining difference. Bid letting by the Iowa Department of Transportation is scheduled for Dec. 20.

Currently, the eastern portion of Oakdale Boulevard ends just east of Pembrokeshire Drive. Drivers can use Pembrokeshire Drive and Lincolnshire Place to get between Oakdale Boulevard and Dubuque Street, but that takes them through a residential neighborhood.

The road extension would be a benefit not just to drivers but also the neighborhood, which will see less through traffic, said Parker and Scott Larson, Coralville's assistant engineer.

The project has been discussed for several years. Long-term plans call for Oakdale Boulevard to eventually extend east to Highway 1. That would involve crossing the Iowa River and would be expensive, Parker and Larson said.

Oakdale Boulevard also could go west across Interstate 380 to Tiffin, Larson said.

There are no major east-west streets between Interstate 80 and North Liberty that continue across Coralville and Iowa City, and Larson said officials want to reduce the use of I-80 as a way to get between communities.

“We just need more connectivity through our area,” he said.