Fairfield announces upcoming road closures for South Main, East Burlington

FAIRFIELD – Fairfield residents should be mindful of a couple of impending road closures to some of the most highly trafficked roads in town.

A portion of South Main Street will close beginning Wednesday, March 20, and then about four weeks later, East Burlington Avenue will close east of Fairfield for the reconstruction of the Crow Creek Bridge. Especially since these two construction projects will overlap, residents should be prepared to allow more time to get where they need to go.

SOUTH MAIN STREET

Fairfield City Engineer and Public Works Director Melanie Carlson said the city has to close South Main Street between Fillmore and Buchanan avenues so the contractor can finish construction that was suspended in December. The road closure on South Main will begin March 20, but the intersection with Fillmore Avenue will remain open until the following week, when it, too, will close. That means residents will need to find an alternative route, such as by going on Iowa Avenue north of there or using East Buchanan to the south.

Carlson explained that the intersection must close so that contractors can finish paving the intersection and installing a storm sewer. She said it’s hard to tell how long the intersection will be closed, but updates on the progress of construction will be posted to the city’s Facebook page.

Once South Main Street is completely open in a couple of months, the city will have to close a portion of Libertyville Road near the intersection with South Main Street so the contractor can finish paving near the entrance to Casey’s.

  Buy Photo

CROW CREEK BRIDGE

In January, the city announced it had hired Iowa Bridge & Culvert to replace the Crow Creek Bridge along East Burlington Avenue, on the east edge of Fairfield. This is the major road that residents use to go east on Highway 34. Carlson said the contractor plans to close this road completely around April 15, and that it will remain closed until the fall.

“Yes, that means that both Highway 1 and Burlington will be closed at the same time,” Carlson said. “No, I don’t hate everyone. I didn’t do it on purpose. We tried really hard to have this not happen, but sometimes it just happens.”

The city is planning to post detour signs for East Burlington, but the detour will change after the Highway 1 construction is complete. While Highway 1/South Main Street is under construction, the detour will recommend that motorists take Glasgow Road east to Osage Avenue, and then by traveling north on Osage Avenue they can connect to Highway 34 (Glasgow Road does not connect to 34). Once Highway 1 construction is finished, the detour will direct motorists to use Highway 1 to access Highway 34.

Since the Fairfield Loop Trail goes directly underneath Crook Creek Bridge, that portion of the trail will also be closed during construction. However, Carlson said the city will also post a detour for the loop trail, which will run from Lamson Woods north to Park Street then to Maple Street, and then east along Broadway Avenue until reaching Chautauqua Park. The detour will add about 3,000 feet to the 15.9-mile loop trail.

Carlson said the city is replacing the Crow Creek Bridge because it’s 70 years old and is showing signs it has reached its useful lifespan.

“The bridge gets inspected every two to four years, and we’re starting to see the structure degrading beyond cosmetic stuff,” Carlson told The Union in January. “We’re seeing more severe cracking, like the difference between a crack in the sidewalk and a pothole.”

  Buy Photo

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com