State, North Liberty team up on Forevergreen project

NORTH LIBERTY - Officials with the state and city of North Liberty are nearing an agreement to share work on Forevergreen Road to prepare the street for its future interchange with Interstate 380.

Cathy Cutler, transportation planner with the Iowa Department of Transportation, said 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.

Cutler said the project should 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.

'We typically wouldn't get involved in a local project like this,” Cutler said. 'I would say it's unusual, but since it has a benefit to the interstate traffic, that's why we're taking that unusual step.”

Proposed improvements to Forevergreen Road will be discussed at a March 30 public information meeting, which will be held from 5-6:30 p.m. at the North Liberty Recreation Center, 520 W. Cherry St.

Planned updates include paving the avenue - which is currently a hodgepodge of chip-seal asphalt and gravel in places - and improving roadway side slops to increase safety. Additionally, some trail and sidewalk construction might take place and storm sewer will be added.

The preliminary concept project estimate is $5.1 million, with the state and city sharing roadway costs.

A formal agreement between both entities has not been finalized, but North Liberty City Administrator Ryan Heiar said it's likely the state would cover the upfront cost of the project, with the city paying back a percentage of the project cost back over time.

'Generally these projects are funded by the local jurisdiction, in this case the DOT has evaluated and understands the importance for their own project at the interchange,” Heiar said. 'From a concept standpoint, that's beneficial to the city. We just need to determine what those payback schedules are going to be. That's important.”

The state's plan is to add a $17 million diamond interchange at Forevergreen Road and I-380 in fiscal year 2019, but Cutler said the project could start a year sooner.

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, Cutler said, adding that the Forevergreen Road interchange alone is planned to be used as a detour of traffic during certain stages of the I- 380/I- 80 interchange reconstruction period.

The Forevergreen Road update is also planned for FY19, but Cutler said that is subject to change.

For North Liberty, receiving state assistance in paying for such a project is helpful, but it also moves forward a project that is not in the community's Capital Improvement Plan's list of priorities.

'The challenge is how to fund that,” Heiar said, adding that the city is also in the midst of major road work on the east side of town in advance of the under-construction Liberty High School.

Heiar did say updating Forevergreen Road and adding an interchange should not only ease traffic congestion on the nearby Penn Street interchange and provide an economic driver in the area.

'I think we could see additional development in that area,” he said. 'My hope is that it also will impact development in other parts of the community and nearby communities.