(Orleans)– The Orleans City Council Monday heard another update on planned improvements for 140th Street along the south shore of Big Spirit Lake. It includes new pavement that would be 11 feet wide, improved drainage, and defined concrete shoulders, among other improvements. Josh Pope, an engineer with Bolten and Menk which is assisting the city with preliminary plans, says they are now ready to seek public input on the preliminary design for the entire length of the corridor, even though it likely would be done in phases, with the first extending from Peoria Avenue to Hill Avenue…
Pope says the public input will be collected through an online survey that should be available this Friday through July 4th. After that, Pope says they’ll be able to further define the plans. He says they haven’t arrived at a cost estimate yet as they are still uncertain on the scope of utility work that would be included. Pope says those talks are ongoing with Iowa Lakes Regional Water and the Iowa Great Lakes Sanitary District. He says the goal is to go out for bids this winter…
Pope says the goal would be to try to maintain as much access as possible to property owners along the project route, but he says there likely will be times where that may not be possible.
