Iowa City chugging forward with work on First Avenue rail crossing

IOWA CITY – The city is continuing to work toward resolving one of the biggest traffic headaches in Iowa City: the First Avenue train crossing.

The City Council is expected to vote Tuesday to give staff the green light to start negotiations to acquire the property needed to build an overpass for trains at the First Avenue-Iowa Interstate Railroad crossing in southeast Iowa City.

Trains there sometimes block traffic for more than 10 minutes. First Avenue is a major street, but there is no convenient bypass near the railroad crossing.

The city mostly needs easements to work on surrounding land during construction rather than having to buy land and take ownership, said Denny Gannon, assistant city engineer. That includes property belonging to a flower shop, the Iowa City school district and several private homes, he said.

The city will seek to condemn any property that cannot be acquired through negotiation.

Design work is underway, with the plan being to lower the road and build a railroad bridge overhead. The city hopes to start construction in spring 2012 and be finished two years later.

As of earlier this year, the estimated cost of the project was $7.1 million.