This message from Sondra Burnell, 4th Ward City Council Member for the City of Grinnell, was posted March 26th on the “Hey, Grinnell…did you know,” Facebook page. “East Street between 1st Avenue and 6th Avenue (Hwy 6) will be reconstructed beginning Monday, April 1st. The project will be divided into several phases. Street closures will start at the intersection of 1st Avenue and East Street. This portion of the project is projected to take about a month. Once the intersection of East and 1st is complete and reopened, East Street from 1st Avenue north to the RR tracks will be closed. The final two phases will be from the RR tracks to 4th Avenue and finally from 4th Avenue to 6th Avenue.
Access to the City of Grinnell Public Service office and Recycling Center will be available during the entire project. While the intersection of 1st and East is closed, vehicles can use the driveway just north of 1st Avenue and enter the parking lot using the driveway between the first two sets of buildings or loop around the entire set of buildings back to 1st Avenue. Drivers are asked to exercise caution entering and exiting as city trucks also use this driveway.
The project includes removal of the street surface, some underground infrastructure replacement, addition of handicap sidewalk ramps at intersections, curb replacement as needed, and repaving of the street. The entire project is projected to be complete by early November.
At different times during the project, residents may not have access to their driveways. City staff recommends residents having to park away from their home carry a flashlight to aide in walking around the project area after dark. In addition to the street closures outlined previously, East Street will be reduced to one lane as needed to allow for the underground infrastructure replacement.
This project is part of an overall project to reconstruct East Street from Garfield Avenue to 6th Avenue. The portion of the project from Garfield to 1st Avenue was completed in 2018.”
