Forum planned for North Liberty’s Forevergreen Road interchange project

NORTH LIBERTY - Next month, officials with the Iowa Department of Transportation will provide another update to a joint effort between the state and North Liberty for an interchange at Interstate-380 and Forevergreen Road.

Iowa DOT will host a public information meeting from 5-6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 19 at the North Liberty Recreation Center, 520 W. Cherry St.

At the meeting, which will include an open forum format, attendees will be able to learn more about the proposed interchange, improvements to Forevergreen Road and right of way needs for the adjacent I-380 widening project near the interchange.

The state and North Liberty are working to reach a formal agreement that likely has the state covering the upfront cost of the project, with the city paying a percentage of the project cost back over time.

The state has taken the lead on the design work and environmental clearance for paving and widening Forevergreen Road between Kansas Avenue and Jones Boulevard.

The project aims to help Forevergreen Road handle added traffic following the street's future interchange with Interstate 380, if needed for a short term incident management route around the I-380/Interstate 80 interchange project.

The state's plan is to add a $17 million diamond interchange at Forevergreen Road and I-380 in fiscal year 2019.

Additionally in FY19, the state plans to begin a $300 million overhaul of the I-380/Interstate 80 interchange.

Both interchange projects and the Forevergreen Road improvements are independent of each other.