Beaver Bend construction underway

Construction has begun on the Beaver Bend intersection. The city has closed 41st Street to north and southbound traffic at Beaver Avenue.

The construction project is expected to last much of the summer as the city works to make the intersection safer. The plan is to square off 41st Street so northbound motorists no longer have to look awkwardly to the right while also guessing whether southbound traffic on Beaver will continue south on 41st Street or stay on Beaver.

The city has set up a detour around the 41st Street closure,

The project will proceed in five phases with partial closures during each stage. Beaver Avenue itself is expected to stay open for all but a short amount of time later in the summer.

Currently, both entry and exit lanes at Snookie's Malt Shop are open but later in the project, it's expected either of the lanes will be closed, with one remaining open at all times. As the photo below shows, work is beginning to add an exit lane to the west of Snookie's onto 42nd Street.

The Iowa Department of Transportation is paying most of the cost of the improvement project. The DOT studied the intersection and concluded realigning the intersection would greatly reduce crashes.

The city purchased property where the Players Sports Bar stood and demolished the building to make way for the realigned pavement. The map below shows the plan for the intersection when completed.