Portion of Beltline Road to close

Starting Wednesday, portions of East 31st Street North, also known as Beltline Road, will be closed to install drain tile and resurface the highly traveled road.

Manatts, of Brooklyn, was awarded the project priced at $1,046,872.45 and plans to complete the work over the next 25 working days on the 40-year-old road.

“They will be putting drain pipe on each side of the road and that will keep the sub-grade dry. After that is done they will come in with a concrete overlay, a seven inch thick concrete road built overtop what is there now,” public works director Keith Laube said.

The project will start at First Avenue and continue to North 19th Avenue, just before the curve. A detour is planned for traffic to go east to Highway T-12 using North 19th Avenue East and Highway 6.

“It is weather dependent on how fast it happens,” Laube said.

Wet weather is a typical hindrance to work and what could extend the project. Currently, it is set to be complete after 25 working days, a number that does not include any days off for weather.

The restoration project is funded through the Surface Transportation Program from the Federal Highway Administration because of the federal-aid classification of the road. The STP funds 80 percent of the project with a 20 percent match coming locally of $209,374.49.

Along with the addition of the drain tiles on both the east and west side of the road, the road will become four feet wider, with extensions of two feet on each side. Now 28 feet wide, the enlarged road will help accommodate truck traffic from industries located in the area and prevent the existing edge of pavement from deteriorating and raveling.

Additional road projects for the city include the resurfacing of West Eighth Street South, East Eighth Street South and East 19th Street South, the South Second Avenue resurfacing project and several areas of pavement patching and repair, some to be contracted and some to be done in house.

“This is by far the most street work we have done in the past five years,” Laube said.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com