Highway 965 through North Liberty to reopen as soon as Wednesday

NORTH LIBERTY - Residents of North Liberty could have the heavily-traveled Highway 965 returned to them by as soon as tomorrow.

Ryan Heiar, North Liberty City Administrator, said officials with Epworth's Horshfield Construction, the contractor on the 965 Project, have indicated that the arterial street will reopen by late Wednesday.

The highway project has been subject to delays in recent months - officials had hoped to reopen the road earlier this month - and Heiar said closing detours and getting tires back on what is arguably the city's busiest street has been a much anticipated development.

'It's excellent news to hear. We're just excited to get this portion complete,” he said. 'I think it's safe to say the community is frustrated, we here at the city are frustrated and understand that everybody is excited to get this project done ... From a standpoint that they're telling us that it's going to open tomorrow, I am really looking forward to that.”

In the next 24 hours, crews will finish painting lines and installing signage at the highway's intersection with Penn Street and with North Dubuque Street and Scales Bend Road, Heiar said.

Both locations have been under construction for about two months now.

Heiar said he couldn't elaborate on what caused delays in the 965 Project, but added that speed bumps can be expected in every large-scale effort.

'I think we all understand construction projects can go either really good or really bad,” he said.

'There were definitely some bumps along the way to get here, but the most important thing is our residents are going to have a quality upgraded road,” North Liberty Mayor Amy Nielsen said. 'The frustration has been really high among residents and business owners and rightly so, just for their sake I'm glad it's almost over.”

Work behind the curbs will continue, but Heiar said drivers should instantly recognize the improvements on the highway, which has been widened and flattened.

'When people drive on it they're going to be amazed at how different this intersection is, just from a safety standpoint it's going to be a major improvement,” he said.

Residents can also rejoice that the city has no plans to revisit the 965 Project until 2017 at the soonest.

That said, work is shifting west to Penn Street near Interstate 380 and east to prepare North Dubuque Street and North Liberty Road for the future Liberty High School, which opens in 2017.