One of the more lengthy discussions during the recent Perry City Council meeting involved an action item related to the lane conversion on 1st Street/Highway 144.
For several years, the City has been in talks with the Iowa Department of Transportation on how to address safety concerns on the busy corridor, and they decided to try a shift from four lanes to three for the entire length of highway through Perry. Currently, the five block section around the intersection of 1st Street and Willis Avenue has the three lane configuration, and wrecks in that area have dropped considerably since the change several years ago. City Administrator Sven Peterson says there were a lot of concerns raised during related meetings and open houses, and he promises that the City has taken everything under advisement.
The Council approved a pre-construction agreement with the DOT to get the project moving, though Peterson says they included a “reset button.” “They did put in a clause to review the project one year after construction, just to make sure it’s working for us. And in conversations with the DOT, they have been very forward with saying, ‘Yep, if it absolutely does not work for the community, we can come back in and restripe it to four lanes.’ So that is a possibility in the future, but I believe that once the community gets used to it, and it’s there and it’s being used, I think we’ll all be okay with driving on that road section.”
Peterson adds, the project involves a complete asphalt overlay for 1st Street paid for by the DOT, so the City will be getting a better road to go with the lane conversion. The tentative timeline is to have a bid letting in February or March of 2020, with construction taking place during the summer. There will be some disruption to traffic on 1st Street while work is progressing, but detours will be in place. To learn more about this and other City of Perry topics, click the link below to listen to the recent Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program with Peterson.
https://www.raccoonvalleyradio.com/2019/12/03/lets-talk-dallas-county-12-3-2019-sven-peterson/