(Sioux City)– We have an update on the road construction on Highway 9 from Vick’s Corner to the Osceola county line. Sarah Tracy, a transportation planner with the Iowa Department of Transportation’s District 3 Office in Sioux City says weather permitting, paving will be starting this Monday, July 28th…
“Up until this point we’ve been doing some patching and milling work.”
She reminds motorists they will need to take a detour, adding they’ve been having issues with some people who think the road is still open to through traffic…
“I think what we’ve been experiencing this week a little bit is, and it kind of goes hand in hand with a project that is just starting, people kind of figure out where to go, where to drive, but if we could just remind travelers to use the detour, try to stay off Highway 9, let the contractor get in there and do what needs to be done. The sooner they can get done with their work the sooner we will be out of there. Certainly understand construction is always kind of a short term pain but I think we’ve had some folks that are still thinking that Highway 9 is a through street and we’d like to try to direct travelers to the detour. If there’s a residence or a business along Highway 9 of course we will provide access to that but if people could use the nearest exit to get off of Highway 9 that would be fantastic.”
Tracy says the project is scheduled for completion in October…
“We’ve been experiencing a lot of rain again this year so that puts the contractor behind sometimes. We are looking at a mid to late October date of completion.”
Tracy says they realize the inconvenience of the road closure and that they appreciate everyone’s patience.
***NOTE: The marked detour route uses Iowa Highway 86, 213th Avenue, Dickinson/Osceola County Road A-34 (220th Street), and Osceola County Road M-18 (White Avenue). The detour route will change in mid-August to Iowa Highway 86, Dickinson/Osceola County Road A-22, Dickinson-Osceola County Road M-34, Dickinson/Osceola County Road A-34 (220th Street) and Osceola County Road M-18 (White Avenue).
