Hiawatha celebrates new intersection Tuesday

HIAWATHA - Officials in Hiawatha are ready to welcome a long-anticipated intersection to the city's road map.

At 10 a.m. Tuesday, city officials host a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Village Center Intersection - where North Center Point Road, Emmons Street and Robins Road meet. The ribbon cutting takes place on the Robins Road side of the intersection, according to a news release.

Kim Downs, Hiawatha city administrator, said in a Monday email the intersection is located in the 12-acre city-owned plot known as Oakbrook. The parcel is planned for a mix of retail, commercial and residential development.

'Now that the intersection is completed it provides a safer intersection for both vehicles and pedestrians. You can also begin to see our vision for creating that downtown village center atmosphere with ... wider cross walks, pedestrian bollard lighting, along with the streetscaping of decorative lighting and plantings,” Downs said.

Hiawatha City Engineer John Bender said in a Monday email the interchange is part of a larger effort to reconstruct more than 2 miles of Center Point Road. The total project, which was broken into two phases, has been estimated at about $3.6 million.

l Comments: (319) 339-3175; mitchell.schmidt@thegazette.com