Hunter
09/16/22
The Coralville City Council unanimously approved a preliminary agreement this week to move the proposed I-80/First Avenue interchange upgrade forward.
The Press-Citizen reports the vote authorizes the Iowa Department of Transportation to organize a detour route for the westbound on-ramp to Interstate 80, once the ramp is closed during construction. The detour sends traffic to the on-ramp on Coral Ridge Avenue.
The project, with an estimated cost of $42 million, hopes to accommodate increased vehicular traffic into Coralville that comes with University of Iowa football games and other events in the area. City Administrator Kelly Hayworth told the newspaper that the estimate takes projected inflation into account and should not go above that amount.
A US Department of Transportation grant is covering about half of the cost, with the Iowa Department of Transportation covering the rest. The City of Coralville pitched in for early design and worked to obtain the federal grant.
The new interchange, known as a “diverging diamond” has shown to reduce all crashes by 46%, according to the Transportation Research Record. The interchange is also known to virtually eliminate left-turn crashes.
Construction is likely to start next year and open to traffic in December 2024.