Bridge work will close part of Clive bike trail

Tue September 01 2009
Posted Aug 31, 2009
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Clive, IA Construction on an Interstate 80/35 bridge will close a portion of the Clive Greenbelt Recreational Trail this month, leaving pedestrians and cyclists with no easy way to get from one section to another. The Iowa Department of Transportation announced the construction at a meeting on Thursday, leaving Clive officials only two weeks to get word of the closure to residents. Construction will begin on Sept. 14, and will focus on the median of the interstate bridge over Walnut Creek. One lane of the four-lane freeway will close during some of the construction, said Clive Public Works Director Bart Weller. DOT officials could not be reached by Friday's deadline for more specific information. While the median is being torn out and rebuilt, pieces of concrete will drop from the bridge onto the trail below. "Obviously it would be dangerous for people to be in there," said Parks and Recreation Director Kelly Canfield. "Trail closed" signs will be posted at 114th Street and at the Campbell Recreation Area, and the section of the trail between those spots will be fenced off. The project is scheduled to be completed, and the trail re-opened, by mid- to-late November. The closure will create a challenge for trail users, many of whom travel from neighborhood to neighborhood all year long using the greenbelt. "There's not really a close or convenient detour for pedestrians and bicyclists," Canfield said. The DOT unveiled the proposal to repair the bridge at a meeting last winter, but at the time the chances of starting work this fall were slim. "We hadn't put anything out to the public yet, anticipating that the work wouldn't begin until next year," Canfield said. Major work on the bridge will resume in the spring, when all four lanes will be repaved. That phase will likely require detours, Weller said. Specific dates for that phase of the project have yet to be determined.