The City of Mount Vernon is moving to partner with the Iowa Department of Transportation for investigating repaving of Hwy 1 from the roundabout to railroad tracks.
City administrator Chris Nosbisch said the DOT discussed the matter in a conference call with the city, and it was an unexpected project.
“The DOT has been doing patchwork along Hwy. 1 and we expected they’d do some of that patchwork through the city moving forward,” Nosbisch said. “Instead, if the city is willing to do the design work for the Hwy. 1 repaving project, the DOT will repave and do subsurface work to the roadway.”
As well, sidewalk crossings that need to be brought to ADA compliance could be addressed by the project.
Nosbisch said that the project is currently not on the Capital Improvement Plan and this was too good of an option for the city.
“If Hwy. 1 is reconstructed, that takes care of two of the three main arterials of the community – Business 30 and First Street being the other two,” Nosbisch said. “We’re starting to look for RFPs for the streetscape project in uptown Mount Vernon.”
Nosbisch said that it would also allow the city to investigate a Safe Route to School grant for the intersection of Hwy. 1 and Fourth Street to provide a more permanent safe crossing for students. There is also a possibility of a turning lane being investigated at the intersection of Seventh Street for the park and housing subdivisions.
The project will most likely not be bid until 2026 and construction on the roadway may not happen until 2027.
“It will be a construction for a year, meaning that Hwy. 1 may not be usable for a good portion of the year,” Nosbisch said. “It’s not going to be pretty or fun, and may be completed in phases. With that being said, it would also mean it’s a road the city would not have to worry about for the next 20 years.”
This work would be on top of the roundabout work that the DOT is to be completing in the next year or two, reducing that roundabout from a two lane roundabout to a one lane roundabout.
The other factor this impacts is the potential work on the First Street streetscape project, as Nosbisch said both streets will not be reconstructed at the same time, as one will need to be a detour for the community while work happens on the other.
A citizen asked if this would widen the highway, and Nosbisch said that would not be the case.
“Many of the homes are less than 15 feet off the right of way, and the recommended speed limits through the town are low enough the roads do not need to be wider,” Nosbisch said.
With the council investigating the repaving and designing the project, this will move the repairs along much faster.