Here are the Cedar Rapids, Marion streets that will be fixed this year

CEDAR RAPIDS — Crews are fanned out across the Cedar Rapids metro fixing mostly residential streets, with contractors handling a few other larger projects

The 1 percent local-option sales tax that pays for much of the roadwork expires this summer. Voters approved another 10-year funding period that extends the funding to 2034. Cedar Rapids uses this tax solely to fund street repairs.

Doug Wilson, manager of the Paving for Progress Program, said the city has three major projects this summer involving contractors and 47 projects on smaller streets.

“We’ve been really heavy in big projects coming up to 2024,” Wilson said. “Two of three big projects carry over, so it worked out that way that we’re having a lighter year.”

Crews are completing the second year of the two-year, $7.4 million project to redo Mount Vernon Road SE from 14th to 20th streets. Last year, crews completed work from 14th to 17th streets, with the remaining blocks being done this summer.

The project includes a new asphalt surface, intersection improvements at 15th Street and 19th Street SE, raised medians with concrete pavers, and a new sidewalk on the south side of Mount Vernon Road between 15th and 19th streets SE.

Also, a two-year, $3.6 million project will start this year to improve 35th Street NE from Oakland Road to F Avenue.

Wilson said the intersections of Eastern Avenue NE and Zach Johnson Drive and Prairie Drive are expected to open in the coming weeks before the Zach Johnson Classic takes place at the Elmcrest Country Club.

“That was a project that really the neighborhood has been asking for for a long time, so we were happy to see it get in the program,” Wilson said.

Another major project is carrying over from last year — the $3.3 million in improvements to Center Point Road NE from Lincoln Avenue to J Avenue. The H Avenue to J Avenue portion is being done this year and is slated to open in August. Lincoln Avenue to H Avenue was completed in 2023.

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Work on 47 local streets this year will exceed $6 million.

Those street projects include removing the asphalt surface, patching, curb repairs, new asphalt surfaces, concrete patching or adding an asphalt overlay if a street didn’t have one before. These less intensive rehabilitation projects extend the life of the street.

Wilson said the city is emphasizing business signage to minimize economic impacts of street work. Shutting down streets allows crews to complete projects faster. Once completed, the roadway is typically good for another 70 years, he said.

“I know it’s an inconvenience for the time that we’re doing the projects, but we do our best to make sure access is maintained to residents and businesses,” Wilson said.

$208 million on streets in 10 years

Overall, the city has spent about $208 million on street improvements in 10 years and completed more than 320 projects with the local-option sales tax dollars.

City officials have said the tax allows for more fiscally efficient repairs, as the city has a dedicated funding source and doesn’t have to issue bonds to pay for street improvements.

Cedar Rapids budgeted $26.8 million and street repairs for fiscal 2025 — the budget year spanning July 1 through June 30, 2025 — and continues to spend between $25 million and $30 million annually on the program, Wilson said.

Twenty-five percent of the local-option sales taxes collected come from people who live outside Linn County, Wilson said.

“It doesn’t fall solely on the Cedar Rapids property owners to pay for our streets, … which is a great benefit to the city,” Wilson said. “It’s a unique funding source that we’re very happy to have.”

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Future projects

Design work also is underway now for a bigger construction year in Cedar Rapids in 2025, Wilson said.

Those projects include:

“We’ll be done fixing and working on Mount Vernon Road once we get that project done,” Wilson said.

Marion street projects

Marion Deputy City Engineer Jacob Hahn said crews will improve the intersection at Highway 100 and East Post Road, likely starting in July and wrapping up this fall.

The estimated $1.64 million project will install additional turn lanes, replace traffic signals and add two-way queue detection. That means when cars back up into turn lanes, the signs in front will flash to alert oncoming traffic that there are stopped vehicles ahead.

The project received an Iowa Department of Transportation grant for safety improvement.

Additionally, the westbound lanes of 10th Avenue will be resurfaced from 35th Street near Hy-Vee to Highway 151 near Walmart. Local-option sales tax dollars will cover the nearly $1.7 million project.

As part of the city’s residential street improvement program, crews will reconstruct Fifth Avenue from First to Seventh streets. The two-year project includes underground utility improvements for water and sanitary and storm sewers.

The first phase being done this year is from First to Third Street. Local-option sales tax dollars will pay for the $2.1 million project.

Approximately $1 million in asphalt resurfacing project is ongoing, about halfway complete on residential and some collector streets in Marion. Crews started this spring and should done by end of June.

Crews completed 31st Street from 10th Avenue to McGowan Boulevard. They should wrap up this week on 26th Avenue from 24th to 27th streets, 23rd Avenue from 24th to 26th streets, and 21st Avenue from 24th Street to Golfview Court.

From June 17 to 28, crews will work on 11th Street from First to Fifth avenues and Third Avenue from 11th to 12th streets.

Tower Terrace Road

Work is underway, too, on the ongoing Tower Terrace Road project that looks to expand the road to connect with Interstate 380 on the west to Highway 13 on the east. When finished, the road will span 8.3 miles through Cedar Rapids, Hiawatha, Robins, part of unincorporated Linn County and Marion.

Paving on the Barnsley Lane roundabout continues. Marion hopes to open the section of Tower Terrace Road from C Avenue east to Alburnett Road by the end of 2024.

Marion crews also started paving this spring for the first phase of the $4.05 million project from Meadow Knolls Road to Alburnett Road, Hahn said.

Metro communities are lobbying for federal grants to complete all sections between I-380 and Highway 13.

Comments: (319) 398-8494; marissa.payne@thegazette.com