Drivers in for bumpy ride to Coralville Lake

Drivers heading to Coralville Lake for the Memorial Day weekend could be in for a bumpy ride.  A large section of West Overlook Road Northeast remains under construction heading into the holiday.  The roadway is the main access way to the lake from the West.  Operations Manager John Castle said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers wanted to finish the work earlier this month, but ran into some delays.

"There are some soft spots and the base material isn't good enough to have a good road on top," Castle said. 

Constructions crews need a special piece of machinery to finish firming up the soil so that the road can be properly paved.  Castle said the machine wont arrive until next week.

"We probably have about ten days of work left," he said.  "It should be done by the middle of next month."

Despite the delay the roadway will remain open to all vehicles.  Drivers are asked to drive slowly through the stretch of unpaved road, especially around any wet spots, Castle said.  Drivers traveling to the lake from the East wont experience any roadwork on Prairie Du Chien Road Northeast. 

"We definitely would have preferred to have it otherwise," Castle said.  "In a month everyone will forget about what it's like now and say how nice it is to have a nice road."

The roadwork does not appear to be deterring any campers.  Castle said every lot has been reserved ahead of the weekend. 

Lake Level Update

John Castle said the lake is expected to be about 2 1/2 feet about the normal pool for this time of year.  The slight increase is due to midweek rain in Northeast Iowa.  Castle said the increase will allow boaters to travel a little farther to the northern parts of the lake.