Marion road construction in 2012 will involve busy routes

MARION -- Road building projects planned by the City of Marion for 2012 will involve rehabilitation of some busy streets, construction of the first section of the Marion Central Corridor and continued progress on construction of portions of Tower Terrace Road.

Assistant City Engineer Maryann Shinrock, in an annual briefing last Wednesday for builders and developers at Lowe Park Center, said the city wants to reconstruct Blairs Ferry Road from Marion Boulevard to Lindale Drive. The road, which has been resurfaced over the years to extend its useful life, is the original pavement and needs to be reconstructed with two through lanes and a turn lane.

"We will be going out for bids shortly on design, so I don't have any details to share in terms of when construction will begin, how long it will take to complete or how much it will cost," Shinrock said in comments to The Gazette. "We will likely have to do some right-of-way acquisition and that's a process that could take some time."

That section of Blairs Ferry Road is used by many motorists who want to avoid the Collins Road and First Avenue intersection to reach Interstate 380. Residential and commercial property is located along either side of the road as well as the Iowa District East Office of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.

Shinrock said another construction of another portion of Tower Terrace Road is planned between Fourth Street and Alburnett Road. It will extend a section of Tower Terrace Road/Barrington Parkway from Fourth Street to N. 10th Street that was completed this year.

Cedar Rapids, Hiawatha, Marion and Robins eventually plan to have Tower Terrace Road built from I-380 to Highway 13. At the present time, County Home Road is the only direct route from I-380 to Highway 13.

Shinrock said a section of Seventh Avenue/Marion Boulevard from about First Street to Eighth Street will be resurfaced in 2012.

"Understanding that construction of the Marion Central Corridor along Sixth Avenue will not be completed for a number of years, we still need to maintain Seventh Avenue," Shinrock said.

Marion plans to construct the first section of Sixth Avenue from Ninth Street to 13th Street in the 2012 construction season. The project has not been without controversy as businesses along Seventh Avenue have expressed opposition to what they view as a bypass.

Two roundabouts have been proposed at Seventh Street and 15th Street to provide motorists with continued access to Seventh Avenue. Planning and Development.

Two road construction projects east of Highway 100 will be driven by commercial developments.

Shinrock said a developer is working with the Iowa Department of Transportation to resolve some issues involving the extension of 31st Street to Highway 100  and another developer is negotiating with the owner of property at Tama Street and Highway 100.

The Tama Street extension project would provide an alternate route for motorists traveling to and from Marion on Highway 100 and Marion Boulevard who want to avoid the busy First Avenue and Collins Road intersection. Traffic signals have already been installed at the intersection at Highway 100 and Tama Street.

Shinrock said the intersection of S. 11th Street and Grand Avenue will be closed  for the first of six stages of S. 11th Street reconstruction. Weather permitting, it is expected to reopen near the end of November.

There will be no access through this intersection during the reconstruction work. On the east side, Grand Avenue will be closed through the Casey's eastern driveway but the Living Waters complex Grand Avenue driveway will remain open.

On the west side, Grand Avenue will be closed through the Hawkeye Convenience Store western driveway. The S. 11th Street driveways to both service stations will remain open.

Access to residents west of Grand Avenue will be from north of the intersection along Hillview Drive. A detour for the S 11th Street through traffic will be marked from 1st Avenue to S 22nd Street to Highway 100.

For local traffic, Meadowview Drive, S. 15th Street, A Avenue and F Avenue will be available for access around the construction closing for Stage 1.

Stage 2 will involve reconstruction of S. 11th Street from the south side of the Grand Avenue intersection to Meadowview Drive and is expected to begin after April 1. Stage 3 will involve reconstruction of S. 11th Street from the north side of the Grand Avenue intersection through the Valleyview Drive intersection.

Stages 4 and 5 will entail reconstruction of s. 11th Street from the north side of Valleyview Drive to the middle of Westview Drive. Stage 6 will be completion of the intersection of Westview Drive and F Avenue and other remaining project work including street lighting and seeding.

Completion of the eS. 11th Street project is expected mid- to late-summer of 2012.

Also of interest to Marion residents will be paving of a section of 29th Avenue from about 50th Street to Highway 13. The project is scheduled for the 2012 road construction calendar, but the exact timing is not known as this time.

Shinrock said a map of Marion road projects completed in 2011 and planned for 2012 was provided to builders and developers as a guide, but there are no guarantees that all the projects will be constructed or completed in 2012.