Street paving is anticipated to start by end of August ...
Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) officials have advised that the street paving portion of this summer’s Iowa 9/76 improvement project is anticipated to begin prior to the final week of August, depending, of course, upon the weather. Iowa DOT District 2 Field Services Coordinator Pete Hjelmstad says, depending upon the condition of the roadway, some areas will require milling down to a depth of as much as four inches while other areas will not receive any milling at all. Motorists may have already encountered some street patching on areas of Allamakee Street north of the Allamakee County Courthouse on through the north edge of town by the City Airport, and DOT officials say no further paving will be required on that section of roadway due to that being the most recently paved area of the Iowa 9/76 network through the town of Waukon and, thus, still being “in good condition”. Although not requiring overlay this year, that portion may be included in an anticipated overlay project between Waukon and Lansing next year. Officials say all paving for this year’s project will be done with single-lane intervals using pilot cars and/or flaggers to guide traffic during the paving process.
Although the actual sequence of the street paving portion of the project will be determined by the paving contractor, DOT officials say the paving portion of the project will begin with the widening of the highway by four feet from the junction of Highways 9 and 76 (locally more popularly known as the John Deere intersection) on the south edge of Waukon up to just south of Eleventh Avenue SW (just south of the City Park). Following the widening of that roadway, the entire surface will then be milled to a depth of 1” which will then receive a 1.5” intermediate course and 1.5” surface course of asphalt overlay.
From south of Eleventh Ave SW heading north to approximately Seventh Avenue SE (Double D Liquor intersection) there will be 2” milling which will be covered with a 2” intermediate course and a 2” surface course. From just north of Seventh Avenue SE to East Main Street there will be no milling, but this area will have a 1.5” intermediate course and 1.5” surface course of overlay. This will also be the case from just north of East Main Street on Allamakee Street to just south of Second Avenue where the overlay ends.
West Main Street from just east of Allamakee Street heading west to Second Street (Post Office intersection) will receive a 1.5” intermediate course and 1.5” surface course of asphalt. From Second Street to Ninth Street (four-way stop sign intersection near Quillin’s) there will be 4” milling which will then have a 2” intermediate course and 2” surface course applied.
In addressing what may appear to residents as sporadic gaps in finishing sidewalks and other areas of improvement, DOT officials explained that the coordination and completion of street light/stop light installation and other infrastructure work required some areas to be left open so such infrastructure work could be completed prior to those sidewalk and other areas being fully completed. Additional concerns with some area sidewalks appearing to have a series of slopes and/or raises/drop-offs, such as along certain Main Street areas, were explained by officials as needing to meet certain slope and four-foot minimum width requirements under the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), so the perceived dips or raises are where the ADA compliant part of the sidewalk transitions to the existing entrance to a building or a downward slope to match the top of the existing street curb.
