Iowa City outlines multi-year Dodge Street reconstruction with underground utilities, new sidewalks and staged detours

Josh Draa of Strand Associates presented the Dodge Street reconstruction plan to residents, outlining a multi-year reconstruction that would replace aging pavement and utilities, install new sidewalks and protected bike lanes, and underground many overhead utilities.

The project covers Dodge Street from Burlington on the south to Governor on the north, a DOT-maintained one-way pair (U.S. Highway 1). The team described a typical section with two 11-foot travel lanes, a buffered protected 6-foot bike lane, and an 8-foot sidewalk on the west side with a 5-foot sidewalk on the east. A joint utility trench (JUT) is proposed to consolidate city, university and private conduits so overhead lines can be buried.

Why it matters: the corridor has deteriorating pavement and very old utilities, some more than a century old, that the city and Iowa DOT say should be replaced to extend service life and improve safety. Josh Draa said the intent is to coordinate private utilities, replace water and sewer mains in the street and implement speed-management measures near schools and intersections.

Key details: the city intends the utilities work (JUT and private-service transitions) to begin before major roadway reconstruction so private utilities can move lines into conduits. The project team described three construction phases expected to occur over 2028–2030, using Governor Street as a close detour route and running portions of it two-way by section during staging. Final designs are expected late this year, bidding in spring 2027 and JUT work in late summer/fall ahead of roadway work.

On property impacts, the team said most permanent impacts will be in public right-of-way and that temporary grading or construction easements may be required for tie-ins, retaining walls and pedestals for transformers. Residents were told the city attorney’s office will manage right-of-way acquisitions and that staff will meet individually with affected property owners to identify parcel-specific impacts.

The city plans several speed-management features: restoring Brown Street to brick to create a speed cue, a raised intersection at Church Street near the school, relocating school-flasher signage to earlier on the approach and trialing flexible bollards in the buffer to separate bikes from traffic where feasible.

Quotes: “We’re going to try to put a bunch of the private utilities all together along with some of the city’s own fiber and the university’s fiber all in one location so we can bury it all,” Josh Draa said. Scott (city staff) described the homeowner side of service work: “Any costs associated with the service lines into the homes would be covered by the city as a part of the project…we’ll replace those up to the right-of-way line,” he said, adding that homeowners could choose to upgrade private portions of service later at their expense.

What’s next: the city will begin right-of-way acquisition now (primarily temporary easements), complete final design later this year, advertise bids in spring 2027, and hold another public meeting before construction to share final staging and property-specific impacts.