Dick Drake Way will be closed to all traffic starting today for the repair and replacement of approximately 120 feet of roadway on either side of the rail spur approximately 1,000 feet west of Stewart Road. The closure is tentatively scheduled to end December 6, weather permitting.
The southbound detour will take traffic from the Highway 61 bypass east on Grandview Avenue to Oregon Street. No semi-trucks will be allowed to use Sampson Street, however. The northbound detour will take traffic from Highway 61 south at 41st Street and east to Stewart Road. Union Tank Car employees will be able to access the facility from Grandview Street. Muscatine Metals employees will be able to access the facility from Stewart Road.
Public Works staff received complaints about the roughness of the road at the rail spur west of Stewart Road earlier this year, applied patching where necessary and monitored the condition of the rail spur crossing. The crossing began to degrade at a rapid rate at the end of the summer and into early fall that made patching ineffective.
Due to the critical nature of Dick Drake Way it was determined to replace 60 feet of the roadway on either side of the crossing with the hope that the replacement could be accomplished before winter. Heuer Construction, Inc., was awarded the $59,585 contract to replace the roadway at the November 7 City Council meeting. The road closure was approved at the November 21 City Council meeting.