Iowa Speedway Drive, Maytag Pool waterslides on docket for public works

Many interested Newton residents attended an open house Thursday night to learn about public works department plans for this year. Held at city hall, city officials presented the projects and staff as on hand to answer any questions.

Some of projects on display are being outsourced to contractors, public works director Jody Rhone said. Other projects will be completed by city staff.

There are several street reconstruction and repair projects planned including a concrete overlay of Iowa Speedway Drive. Spanning from near Mannatts to the intersection of First Avenue East, when completed the road will be similar to the recent reconstruction on East 31st Street North from First Avenue East to North 19th Avenue East.

Along with the concrete overlay, new sub drains will be put in on both sides of the street along with new concrete driveways and street approaches. With a total cost of $1.27 million, funding will come from an Iowa Department of Transportation grant of $1.07 million and a local match of $214,287 to come from the road use tax, TIF funds and the 2019 bond.

An asphalt milling and resurfacing project will also be completed on the east, west and north side of the downtown square.

“The existing asphalt surface on the three blocks was placed in about 1985,” Rhone said. “The surface is weathered and deteriorated, with numerous cracks throughout.”

To complete the project, three to four inches of surface will be milled off the top and replaced with a new hot-mix asphalt of the same thickness. Work on the project may occur at night so the streets can remain usable during the daytime hours.

The project cost is $150,000 and work is expected to take two weeks sometime between Aug. 6 and Nov. 9

To continue Americans with Disabilities Act improvements at Anges-Patterson Park, handicap parking stall will be built near the new pit toilet along with sidewalks leading from the parking area to the upper baseball and lower softball fields.

The improvements are projected to cost $27,005 and will come from the 2017 bond funds.

Along with the highly visible roadwork, another project that is in the public’s eye is the rehabilitation of the waterslides at Maytag Pool. Not scheduled to be completed until after the 2018 pool season, the rehabilitation will give new life to the aging slides.

“The two waterslides at Maytag Pool were constructed in 1997,” Rhone said. “Although both slides and their support structures are will structurally sound, the fiberglass slide tubes are faded and in need of rehabilitation.”

The rehabilitation will consist of repairing the leaking and offset waterslide joints and refinishing the fiberglass tubes with a possible color change all while continuing to utilize the existing support towers. Rhone said the rehabilitation will add an estimated 15 to 20 year of life to the waterslides. The work is budgeted at $80,000 to come from bond funds.

Additional work being completed throughout the city includes the asphalt mill and resurfacing of various streets, concrete pavement patching on various streets and the Newton Rotary seating project at the Maytag Bowl.

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