Project of the Week: Mt. Vernon Rd SE from 20th Street to 26th Street

Mount Vernon Road is one of the City's most heavily-traveled streets, which means it sees plenty of wear and tear.

Thanks to Paving for Progress, the City is making a big push to address that.

Crews are currently working to improve the portion that runs from 20^th Street to 26^th Street - and the final result will see new sidewalks and transit stops, crosswalks that are Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant, and more. Construction will include patching the deteriorated concrete, replacing curb and gutters to maintain roadway drainage, and paving an asphalt overlay.

It is the latest phase of a project that has given new life to the aging road that serves both homes and businesses on the southeast side of Cedar Rapids.

"Without Paving for Progress, and the local option sales tax funding the program, the City would have to sell bonds and incur debt to do a project as big as the Mount Vernon Road project," says project manager Bryan Benjamin. "We have seen more than 132 miles of streets improved with this program. And with 25 percent of the Local Option Sales Tax being paid by visitors from outside of Linn County, road improvement costs are shared by users from all over."

'This project is about right-sizing'

The land adjacent to this segment of Mount Vernon Road includes a mix of residential, commercial, municipal (fire station), and institutional (school) properties. The paving improvements include patching of the existing concrete and overlaying with a new asphalt surface. If this project were to be delayed much further, it would have required full pavement reconstruction, and cost tax payers at least twice as much.

The lane configuration will be modified to include one eastbound lane, two westbound lanes, and a two-way center left-turn lane.

"This project is about right-sizing," Benjamin says. "We are looking at current and forecasted traffic volumes to determine how the lanes are going to best serve the traveling public. The two-way center left-turn lane will pull turning traffic out of the flow of through traffic, which will reduce rear-end crashes."

Transit stops within the project limits will be improved, including construction of a new transit stop near the Alliant substation and a bus stop with a shelter near Vernon Heights Plaza. New sidewalk is also being built on the west side of 25th Street SE from Mount Vernon Road to Grant Wood Terrace. This path creates a safer, more walkable path for students at Grant Wood Elementary School.

Working with traffic

While a full road closure is safer and more efficient for contractors, it was not an ideal option for this project. Mount Vernon Road SE serves approximately 20,000 vehicles per day. That is far too high a number to simply divert through detours in the surrounding neighborhood.

For that reason, the City is making sure to keep the road partially open, even while work is going on.

"Mount Vernon Road SE is wide enough to move traffic over on the specific lanes while construction occurs," Benjamin says. "There are safety features in place to keep workers safe, including advanced warning signage, delineators, and temporary construction barriers. This also helps slow the traffic as they pass through the construction area.

"We need everyone to be especially careful as they move through the construction zone," he adds.

Sometimes full closures are unavoidable. Several weeks ago, the City closed the intersection of Mount Vernon Road and 20^th Street for one weekend while a new water main crossing was installed. This coming weekend, the contractor is installing another water main crossing under Mount Vernon Road SE at 21^st Street SE, requiring another weekend closure of the full intersection.

"The full road closure allows crews to install the new water main safely and efficiently," Benjamin says. "Weekends are selected as there is generally less traffic on the road that will need to use the detours established."

Investing in the future

Residents often ask how streets are selected for repair each year. The City uses a 10-year management plan using pavement condition data collected on every street in Cedar Rapids. The data is collected by a vehicle that drives the surface of the roads and collects data on texture, pavement distress, and roughness.

Fresh data is collected every two years, and the plan is updated accordingly. Key Goals include:

• Fully reconstruct some of the roads in worst condition
• Perform less costly preventative maintenance to extend the life of additional roads, investing in those roads before they reach the end of their service life
• Make improvements to residential neighborhoods that have long been neglected

"The City is very grateful for residents' support of the Paving for Progress program," says Doug Wilson, Engineering Manager for Paving for Progress. "Without the local option sales tax being approved by voters twice, the program wouldn't exist, and streets like Mount Vernon Road would continue to deteriorate.

"Instead, we have been able to repair so many streets over the past 12 years," he says. "Residents tell us that they are very appreciative of the City working on their street, and of the efforts by the City staff to communicate with the neighborhood throughout the work process."

You can learn more about the Mount Vernon Road project here. Learn more about Paving for Progress here.

Project of the Week puts a spotlight on work happening all over the City every day. Each week, we will take a closer look at projects that are investing in our community's roads, trails, Flood Control System, and more. See previous installments here:

June 18: Grande Avenue SE
June 11: O Avenue NW Time Check Elevation Project
June 5: Nassau Street
May 28: Cedar Lake
May 21: Tree of Five Seasons Park
May 14: 20th Street NW
May 7: 18th Avenue SW
April 30: Alliant Energy LightLine™
April 23: 42nd Street
April 16: The 3rd Avenue Bridge