Road map for North Liberty construction plans

NORTH LIBERTY - The recent work on Highway 965 may be finished, but North Liberty residents will still see their share of road projects this construction season.

Jones Boulevard closed Wednesday between Penn Street and Liberty Way for the start of a project there. The city is reconstructing Jones from St. Andrews Drive to Penn Street, including widening it to 29 feet, adding turn lanes at some intersections and installing a storm-sewer collection system.

The closure will last about one month, with motorists advised to use Cherry Street and Liberty Way as detours. There will be other closures on Jones as work on the $2.8 million project continues.

Jones Boulevard is a collector street that has seen increased use as the west side of North Liberty has been developed in recent years. A new subdivision in the area was approved by the city earlier this year.

“This is a road project that's been long in the making because it's an old road ... seeing a lot more traffic now,” City Administrator Ryan Heiar said. “And this part of the community is starting to grow.”

North Liberty's population was estimated at 13,374 in the 2010 census, a 149 percent increase from a decade earlier.

Other major projects this year include widening Penn Street from two lanes to four, starting 600 feet west of Jones Boulevard and ending at Highway 965. That $1.5 million project also will include the installation of a traffic signal at the Jones-Penn intersection, installing a fiber-optic cable from Highway 965 to Cameron Way and replacing sections of Penn Street that are in bad condition.

The city also is extending Golfview Drive and constructing a 10-foot-wide trail along North Dubuque Street.

All of the projects are expected to be finished by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, motorists concerned about the news that Hy-Vee Food Stores and the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics have construction plans at Highway 965 and Forevergreen Road need not worry anytime soon.

Neither project has a time line.

UI spokesman Tom Moore said land for a new clinic has been purchased, but planning has just begun.

“It's too early to tell when construction will start,” Moore said. “I can't even guess.”

The land the UI purchased in the area is in North Liberty, while Hy-Vee's land is in Coralville.

Heiar said North Liberty will work with Coralville to keep traffic moving once construction begins on the projects and in the future when the facilities are completed.

“When needed, there will be improvements to Forevergreen Road and 965, and that should help keep traffic moving,” Heiar said.

Correspondent Kathryn Bergstrom contributed to this report.