Cedar Rapids preparing next phase of gun range improvements

CEDAR RAPIDS - Improvements are expected to continue this summer on the city's rifle range on Old River Road.

Cedar Rapids police Capt. Steve O'Konek said the city plans to put phase two of the three-phase improvement project out to bid soon with the hopes of construction beginning this summer.

'We've designed phase two,” he said. 'We're going to be in the process of putting that out to bid so construction can start in June. We hope to be completed in August.”

Phase two of the improvements focuses on the 50-yard pistol range. The city plans to add automatic turning targets to the range, as well as improvements with noise abatement and lead collection in mind. Specifically, the range will see a taller berm at the end of the range to catch the rounds shot down range. O'Konek said the taller berm will help with noise abatement for neighboring homes.

In addition to being higher, the berm will also be rebuilt out of shredded tires, which will allow the city to strain out the lead rounds every few years and reuse the rubber. Along with keeping that lead out of the ground, O'Konek said the city will be able to sell off the used lead.

Last month, the city made a payment of nearly $60,000 to Kleiman Construction, Inc. to pay off phase one of the project. Similar to phase two, phase one improved the 100-yard rifle range with a raised berm, rubber bullet trap and new drainage tile. That work was completed last fall, O'Konek said.

'It's fantastic,” he said. 'It looks really, really nice. We're excited to start using it.”

Eventually, the city will move on the phase three of the project, which will see the addition of a 20-position pistol range that will allow multiple agencies to use the range at the same time. The total cost of the project - roughly $3.5 million, according to O'Konek - is being defrayed by financial assistance from eight other agencies that have agreed to contribute to the project in exchange for free use of the range. North Liberty, Iowa City, University Heights, Coralville, University of Iowa and Mount Vernon Police, the Johnson County Sheriff's Office, FBI and US Marshals have all contributed to the project, O'Konek said.

O'Konek said the range was built in the 1960s and had not seen any major improvements or upgrades in the last 50 years. The department wanted to take advantage of newer technology with the turning targets and be ecologically friendly with the rubber bullet traps, O'Konek said.

'The big thing that drove us was the sound abatement for the neighbors,” he said.

The range has drawn criticism for the noise it produces. O'Konek said the raised berms should help with that issue, as well as the plans to add more trees around the range. O'Konek said the department is also working to limit night and weekend shots.

'We try to limit our shooting out there because we want to be respectful,” he said. 'We really tried to do a better job of respecting the neighbors and letting them know ... so when they're having a cookout, it doesn't sound like a war zone out there.”