First Avenue East project set to start this spring

CEDAR RAPIDS - Work on First Avenue East will begin anew this spring with pavement rehabilitation and sanitary-sewer replacement from 21st to 27th streets.

The City Council approved a $1.36 million construction contract for the work with LL Pelling Co. Inc. of North Liberty on Tuesday night. The pre-bid estimate of the project cost, which is being shared by the city and state, was $1.43 million. The construction is expected to take 90 working days.

Also Tuesday, city officials said crews should be done working on First Avenue East from 40th Street north to Collins Road by the end of June. One section of the avenue is being elevated to match the elevation of the completed sections.

Officials also said the city has scaled back a plan to reconstruct First Avenue East from 27th to 40th streets, beginning in 2014. That plan had called for a median in the avenue to help increase traffic flow by reducing turns, but businesses affected by the proposed change had objected.