Iowa City begins planning study to replace Burlington Street bridges, weigh dam modification

Iowa City officials opened a public planning meeting Oct. 12 to gather input on a study that would replace the eastbound and westbound Burlington Street bridges with a single bridge and evaluate multimodal improvements and the possible modification or removal of the Burlington Street (Iowa River) dam.

"We are in a very, very, very early stage of this project," said Kristen Veldhouse, meeting facilitator, explaining the session was meant to collect public feedback before concept design begins. Justin Harlan, senior engineer for the City of Iowa City, said the project is city-led and includes the Iowa Department of Transportation and the University of Iowa as stakeholders.

The planning study boundary runs roughly from the field house to the Crandick Railroad tracks. Study topics announced at the meeting include replacing the two vehicular bridges with one structure, evaluating repair or replacement of pedestrian bridges, converting Melrose and Byington to two-way traffic, geometric and multimodal improvements to roadways and intersections within the limits, and assessing options for the Burlington Street Dam.

Why it matters: the corridor provides a key connection used by emergency vehicles, hospital traffic, students, transit (Iowa City Transit…