Work on the Waverly Bremer Avenue bridge on Iowa Hwy. 3 and on the future U.S. Hwy. 218 interchange between Waverly and Janesville at 260th Street – west of present-day 218 – are on schedule, according to an Iowa Department of Transportation spokesman.
On the Bremer Avenue bridge/Iowa Hwy. 3, the west abutment is completely done and ready for beams, and the east abutment has been poured, according to Pete Hjelmstad, field services coordinator for Iowa DOT District 2.
The wing walls for the east abutment were in progress late last week.
“They poured the northeast wing wall today,†Hjelmstad said on April 17. “They plan on pouring the southeast wing wall next week (week of April 21-25). They are readying the footing for pier two that they hope to pour late next week.â€
The abutments are the concrete structures that support either end of the bridge. Two piers, concrete columns that support the beams, will go between the abutments.
The project got an early start, which was late last summer, according to Hjelmstad. Some rain and snow into the upper Cedar River to the north slowed things down for a few days but didn’t stop progress.
“They were still able to work on the bridge,†Hjelmstad said.
The project – which was let for $8.5 million – remains on schedule.
“We are still shooting to have it open by Labor Day,†Hjelmstad said.
260th Street interchange
Between Janesville and Waverly, early work is being done on the future interchange of Hwy. 218 at 260th Street so that Hwy. 218 can be shifted westward next construction season.
“We are currently working on some of the bridge approaches for the new bridges that were built last fall,†Hjelmstad said.
“Once we get the entire thing (218) shifted over to the west, we will have an interchange at 260th Street.
“We did a lot of grading and dirt work last year and built the new bridges that will go over 260th Street,†Hjelmstad said, explaining he used the plural of bridges because it is a four-lane interstate.
The terminals will be roundabouts, like the ones at Janesville.
“It’s going really, really well. They had a really good fall last year and got a lot done,†Hjelmstad said.
The grading and bridge work that took place last and this construction season was let in February 2024 for $10.1 million.
The second phase of the Janesville area 218 project will be let in July. It is programmed for $26.9 million, Hjelmstad said.
Hwy. 63 culvert
Work started a few weeks ago on a triple box culvert replacement south of Iowa Hwy. 188 on U.S. Hwy. 63. The project was let for $2.2. million in November 2024.
The culvert being replaced is under the southbound lanes, Hjelmstad said.
“Right now we have the inside lanes closed for northbound and southbound because we’re building median crossovers,†he said.
When that is done, the southbound lanes will be closed, and the traffic will be routed through the northbound two lanes head-to-head.
This will allows replacing the culvert in the southbound lanes.
