Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Transportation Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
HDR describes Isizert Avenue corridor design, council told construction funding still needed
Summary
HDR presented a preliminary design for the Isizert Avenue–Cypress Street corridor prioritizing safety, consistent lane geometry and multimodal connections. The city received a federal RAISE grant for design but must still secure construction funding from federal, state or local sources.
Morgan Mays, a consultant with HDR, told the Muscatine City Council the Isizert Avenue–Cypress Street corridor project is focused on long-term infrastructure replacement and safety improvements and that the federal RAISE grant the city received in 2024 covers design only.
Mays said the project’s design horizon looks toward 2050 and beyond and aims to improve corridor consistency and multimodal access while keeping truck movements intact in industrial sections. "This project is meant to focus on the infrastructure replacement that is there," Mays said, adding the team prioritized safety, corridor consistency and multimodal accommodations.
The presentation broke the corridor into three segments. Mays characterized the middle segment (Isa Avenue from Woodlon to Clay Street) as heavy with truck traffic and identified the Bidwell intersection, the Geneva Creek bridge and the Clay Street intersection as immediate priorities for safety and preservation of truck movement. A roundabout was considered at Bidwell but deemed prohibitive for the truck volumes; a roundabout at Clay Street is proposed.
For the south segment (Fifth Street to Woodlon), HDR emphasized neighborhood-scale design and multimodal accommodations. Mays said constraints such as narrow right-of-way and nearby property elevations ruled out some roundabout options at 11th Street; the team is proposing safety alignments that also improve pedestrian crossings.
The north segment (north of Clay to US-61) has the highest corridor volumes but is generally in better condition, Mays said. HDR proposed a new Lake Park Boulevard connection and trail links to the greenbelt and Oak Park to improve continuity for pedestrians and bicyclists while retaining parking on parts of the corridor.
Council members pressed for details about lane counts and turn lanes. Mays said the design favors a simplified three-lane standard (two through lanes and a center turn lane in many places) to reduce driver confusion and crash conflict points rather than to increase vehicle capacity. "This project isn't necessarily about widening or increasing the capacity. It is more focused on increasing the safety, reliability, the predictability of where traffic should go," he said.
HDR and staff said preliminary design work is complete and that the next step is public engagement: a public works open house is planned for May where residents can review the concepts and submit comments. City staff and HDR stated they are pursuing federal, state or local sources for construction funding and that the RAISE grant funds design only.
The council did not take action on construction funding at the meeting; HDR and staff will return with additional materials and a public meeting date.
