(Arnolds Park)– Work on the first phase of the Highway 71 project through Arnolds Park and Okoboji is still scheduled to start this coming Monday, March 13th. But officials are now prefacing that with two words: weather permitting. Dakun Schultz, a regional transportation director with the Iowa D.O.T’s office in Sioux City, gave the update at an informational meeting Tuesday evening in Arnolds Park…
“Next Monday we’re looking at lane closures for saw operations. The contractor will be up to get that effort going and then the following week, and this is all weather permitting, of course, we’ll put the through detour into effect and we’ll start the pavement removal process. And we’re looking at intersection work in Arnolds Park at Okoboji Grove Road, Benit, Lake, Dam, and Ackley. And in Okoboji it will be Lakeshore/Gordon, and Sanborn and stretch up by Okoboji View Avenue. It will be an effort where the contractor gets in, works until May 25th, and then once May 25th hits they’ll shut down for the tourist season, give everybody a break, and then they’ll be back September 5th to start all over again. And we’ll repeat that several times until we get this project done.”
Schultz says that likely won’t happen until the spring of 2025. He says some of the work this spring will also include paving some short sections between Okoboji Grove Road and Benit Drive in Arnolds Park; and on the northbound lane of the causeway between Arnolds Park and Okoboji.
Schultz says the project represents years of coordination with the two cities, fire and rescue officials, and various other entities…
“We’ve been out here since I think it was 2017 when we started coming to the communities and working with this. We recognize, there is no such thing, we try to mitigate some of that pain and suffering with the staging and this is pretty complicated staging. It’s a, you know, we aren’t doing underground utilities, we’re doing some sidewalk and pavement removal/replacement, but the thing is, the pay off. Once you get done with it, this roadway is going to be top-notch pavement. And right now, it is not. It is in tough shape. It looks more gravel than pavement in a lot of places. We look forward to the ribbon cutting and hopefully everybody will bear with us and have the patience to work with us on this.”
In addition to new pavement, the project includes new sidewalks and improvements to aesthetics along the route in both Arnolds Park and Okoboji; new stoplights at Lake Street and Linden Drive in Arnolds Park; and shifting where the highway narrows down to three lanes south to 202nd Street, south of Emerald Hills. Those components are included in later stages of the project.
