(Estherville)– A project to replace pavement on Highway 9, or Central Avenue, through Estherville is being planned by the Iowa Department of Transportation. The project would be done over several years, beginning in the spring of 2028. It would extend from the Des Moines River Bridge east to Brown Creek Bridge on the east side of Estherville.
The Estherville City Council Monday approved an engineering agreement with the Iowa D.O.T at an estimated cost of $523,244 for the replacement of water, sanitary sewer and some storm sewer lines. The city would reimburse the D.O.T for the cost over the next three fiscal years, with funds coming from reserves in the city’s Road Use Tax Fund. City Administrator Penny Clayton says some of the infrastructure in that area is extremely old and desperately needs to be replaced…
“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to replace the infrastructure before you put down a multi-million dollar road on top of it.”
As of now she says they don’t yet have an estimate on what replacing the infrastructure would cost, but she said it could be a multi-million dollar project. Clayton said she’ll work on getting estimates in the near future.
The Iowa D.O.T will hold a come-and-go informational event for the proposed Highway 9 project Tuesday, April 28th between 5:00 and 7:00 pm at the SERT building at the Estherville Campus of Iowa Lakes Community College.
