The City of Iowa City will host a public informational meeting to provide details about the First Avenue Grade Separation Project from 5:30-7 p.m., Wednesday, June 19 at South East Junior High (LMC Reference Area), 2501 Bradford Drive.
The meeting will have an open house format, with a short presentation about the project at 6 p.m. Brian Boelk, HBK Engineering project engineer, will share project details, schedule, and impacts to the neighborhood. Currently, an estimated 20,400 vehicles use the First Avenue route on a daily basis, and the number is expected to climb to 28,000 within 10 years.
Each day, between two and four trains block First Avenue, causing conflicts, major traffic delays, and safety concerns for vehicles and pedestrians. Traffic studies have shown that on average, whenever the crossing is blocked, 288 vehicles idle in traffic for 10 to 20 minutes, while another 392 vehicles seek other routes, including the nearest grade-separated crossing on Summit Street, a four-mile detour.
The project is currently in design phase, with construction scheduled to begin in the spring of 2014. The plan involves lowering First Avenue while raising the railroad at the current at-grade crossing of the Iowa Interstate Railroad.
The City of Iowa City has designated funds, along with support of federal funding, to design and construct the separation between the railroad and vehicle and pedestrian traffic. Included in this project will be a new railroad bridge, street paving, water main improvements, a stormwater lift station, stormwater management basin, and retaining walls.