Major street in Maquoketa to be repaved

By Sheri Melvold | Saturday, June 23, 2007

MAQUOKETA, Iowa — Next month, one of the main cross streets in the city will get a facelift along with new water and sewer lines.

Western Avenue, which is a half-mile street between West Summit and West Platt streets, is scheduled for repair. Maquoketa City Council members recently awarded a $1.13 million contract to Horsfield Construction of Epworth.

The contractor said the project will begin July 11 and last through late November.

Plans call for repaving the entire street, installing new water, sanitary sewer and stormwater lines, and a 5-foot sidewalk along the east side of the road. Western Avenue is heavily used by walkers to get from Summit to Platt streets and currently, there’s only a small stretch of sidewalk.

The road is scheduled to remain open to residents except for about two weeks. During the final construction phase, there may be a two-week period when residents may not be able to park in their driveways. The contractor will be required to keep the road open for emergency vehicles.

The construction will include some changes at the Platt Street and Western Avenue intersection, where two lanes will be made for northbound traffic. The right lane will be for traffic turning right on Platt while the center lane is for left turning vehicles and those travelling straight ahead onto Creslane.

A federal program will pay most of the cost, and the city will pay 20 percent. The water and sewer portion will be paid from the city’s water and sewer revenues. Residents will not be assessed.