SIOUX CITY -- Completion of the Interstate 29 widening and reconstruction project took a major step forward in 2017 with the completion of the northbound lanes past Sioux City's downtown.
The northbound lanes from Floyd Boulevard to just past Hamilton Boulevard reopened at the end of November, and traffic was switched over to the new lanes. Entrance ramps onto northbound I-29 at Virginia Street and Wesley Parkway also opened by the end of the year.
An exit directly onto Nebraska Street also opened, allowing traffic to directly access the busy downtown street, an improvement over the old configuration, which dumped traffic onto Gordon Drive, forcing motorists to make a short jog onto Nebraska Street.
"I think it works real well. We expected that to function well," said Dakin Schultz, Iowa Department of Transportation District 3 traffic planner.
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It was year nine of the 11-year, $400 million project to widen I-29 to three lanes in each direction from Sergeant Bluff, through Sioux City, to the South Dakota border. With the project nearing completion, the final configuration of the highway through downtown is beginning to take shape.
"We always heard the questions, 'What's it going to look like?' 'Where will I exit?'" Schultz said. "It's really starting to come together."
For the past two years, construction focused on the northbound lanes in the downtown area. Now with new exit and entrance ramps, it's easier for visitors to navigate downtown, said Barbara Sloniker, Siouxland Chamber of Commerce executive vice president.
"I think what you'll see is it will be easier for retail establishments in the downtown district to direct customers to them," Sloniker said. "I think it shows our downtown better."
During construction the past two years, seven bridges were completed. Pavement in the traffic lanes was removed and replaced. Exits at Nebraska Street and Wesley Parkway were reconstructed.
Work has continued through the winter. Workers in January and February demolished the former northbound bridges over Floyd Boulevard and Pierce Street to prepare for construction of new bridges.
In November, the IDOT opened bids on the next step of the project, reconstruction of the southbound lanes and replacement of five bridges from Wesley Parkway to the Floyd River. The apparent low bid was $41.8 million from Godbersen-Smith Construction Co. of Ida Grove, Iowa.
Schultz said work will begin to pick up on that next phase of construction in March.
Major construction of I-29 should be done in 2019, Schultz said, with some finishing work in the Hamilton Boulevard area wrapping up in 2020.
