City opens bids for closing of Second Avenue

CEDAR RAPIDS – In case you still doubt it, the city is still planning on closing Second Avenue SE between 10

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and 12

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streets SE on April 1 to make way for the Physicians' Clinic of Iowa's new medical building.

A reminder of the closing came at the City Council meeting on Tuesday evening, when the council gave the unanimous go-ahead to seek construction bids to change the configuration of three streets to help accommodate the Second Avenue SE closing.

Specifically, the street work will convert one-way 13

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Street SE to a two-way street between Second and Third avenues SE; will convert one-way Third Avenue SE between 13

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and Eighth streets SE to a two-way street; and will convert one-way Second Avenue SE from 12

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to 13

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streets to a two-way street.

The Third Avenue SE conversion will result in one lane of traffic coming into downtown and two lanes going out of downtown between Eighth and 13

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streets SE with a center turn lane.

The work on the street conversions, expected to cost $195,000, is slated to begin April 11 and be complete by mid-May.

Until the completion, traffic inbound toward the downtown on Second Avenue SE above 12

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Street SE will be left to migrate to First Avenue East or some other route.

The conversion will remove existing on-street parking on Third Avenue SE between 10

Leslie Hart, the city's associate traffic engineer, said the city was unable to move more quickly on the conversions, in part, because it needed the weather to warm to repaint traffic lines on the streets.

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and 13

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streets SE and will limit on-street parking on Third Avenue SE between Eighth and 10

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streets SE to the north side of the street. A special “pull off” area will be left in front of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, 857 Third Ave. SE, to, in part, allow caskets to be moved to and from hearses and in and out of the church, city officials said.