Preliminary design for the reconstruction of Highway 75 in Sioux Center continues, working toward anticipated completion in 2025. City staff updated the City Council on next steps for the project:
Streetscape planning
On March 30, the Council plans to hear recommendations on streetscape developed through feedback from the local streetscape steering committee, open house last October and two community surveys.
Updated design for downtown Sioux Center
Unlike earlier indications, the Federal Highway Administration has stated that removing the Chamber of Commerce building, as part of this project, would require significant delays to go through Federal Highway Administration processes. Due to the condition of Highway 75, the timeline of state and federal funding allocated for this project, and the needs of the community, city staff and the project engineers believe it is best to move forward with a project that doesn’t include removal of that building to avoid lengthy delays. Previously, the preliminary plan had included removing Chamber building a part of this project to allow for turning traffic at 3rd Street North.
“We will adapt to work within the Federal Highway Administration’s parameters on this because a significant portion of the funding for this project will be federal dollars,” Utilities Manager Murray Hulstein said. “This will require some engineering and design considerations in the two blocks of the downtown, and we are working through that process.”
Public information open house
City staff is aiming for an April public information meeting giving the opportunity to review the preliminary design for the Highway 75 project before it is submitted to the Iowa Department of Transportation.
Right of way process
After the preliminary design is submitted to the DOT and Federal Highway Administration and is approved, the DOT will be able to begin working with property owners if right of way must be purchased from them for the project.
After these steps, project engineers will complete a final design in preparation for bid letting with construction slated for 2023 and 2024, and anticipated completion in 2025.