Sixth Avenue in Marion now open

MARION — The new Sixth Avenue in Marion, a road project over a decade in the making, is now fully open to traffic.

The city held a ribbon cutting Friday morning to celebrate the opening of the road that runs between two roundabouts at Seventh Avenue and Seventh Street and at 26th Street, the former Marion Iron site.

“This is probably one of the most exciting projects I can think of,” Community Development Director and Acting City Manager Tom Treharne said. “When I first arrived in Marion in 2001, one of the first questions was what we were going to do with this and the Seventh Avenue corridor.”

The Central Corridor Plan was adopted in 2009 in an attempt to revitalize and redevelop the Uptown Marion area.

A few years before the plan was adopted, the city bought the railroad right of way that is now Sixth Avenue.

“The conversation at the time was to maximize the opportunity,” Marion Mayor Nick AbouAssaly said.

The plan was to build a street along the right of way so downtown traffic would be balanced between Sixth and Seventh avenues, creating a more pedestrian-friendly Uptown.

In addition, properties that once housed warehouses and industry were removed and are now in a position to become a mix of commercial and residential.

Seventh Avenue in the heart of Uptown Marion is now under construction as part of the city’s streetscape project.

“It’s really going to improve land value of the surrounding property,” Principal Planner Dave Hockett said. “Developers are going to start taking notice of that and see opportunities to get involved and do something. It also gives our local businesses greater exposure, too.”

The Sixth Avenue design and construction cost $17.4 million, with about $6 million provided by local-option sales tax dollars. The final segment, which opened Friday, cost around $5.9 million.

Trail lengthening

Wider sidewalks also were added on Sixth Avenue, which is part of the Grant Wood Trail and covers 8.5 miles in various segments.

“What started as a 3.2-mile grass path and a dream has nearly doubled to 6.2 miles of continuous trail,” said Phillip Platz, president of the Linn County Trails Association.

“With near-term plans, that length will double again in the next couple of years, connecting Cedar Rapids near the Cedar Valley Nature Trail, through Marion, and on toward Springville.”

Additional trail segments are open in Jones and Clinton counties.

Construction of a new bridge over Marion Boulevard will soon be underway and will complete the trail’s connection from the former Lindale Trail (now the Grant Wood Trail) into Uptown Marion and Linn County.

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