Roadwork disrupts business traffic flow

Norris Asphalt and other contracted companies are working on the west end of Burlington Avenue in Fairfield as part of the agreement with the city to have Business 34 in good condition prior to the upcoming transfer of jurisdiction.

The surface of the old highway through town is being milled and patches are being made, then a hot-mix asphalt overlay will be done on the entire length of the road from Filbert Avenue to Chautauqua Park. Painting the road markings will be the final task to be completed.

Project engineer Jeff Johnson said the work, which is divided into three sections in town to minimize disruptions, is scheduled to continue through the first of September.

As part of the project, the stop lights at the corner of 20th Street and Burlington Avenue, where the Fairfield Hy-Vee Food Store and Walmart sit, will be set to flashing red making the corner a four-way stop Thursday.

Patching in the intersection will be done by the contractor overnight starting at 9 p.m. Friday, and drivers are asked to use alternate routes. The intersection is scheduled to reopen at 7 a.m. Saturday.

Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce executive director Brent Willett said the chamber hasn?t received any direct reports from chamber members concerning customer access to businesses, although ?we encourage calls of complaints and concerns because we are positioned to get answers or connect members with the right people at the D.O.T. to get the answers.?

Asli Theobald, who owns the Fairfield Family Restaurant, said the roadwork is affecting business.

?We only had two lunch customers yesterday,? she said. ?We won?t be able to make it a month with no customers.?

Theobald said lunch customers don?t want to tolerate even short waits on the flag car guiding traffic through the work area.

But according to the Iowa Department of Transportation, access to all businesses along Burlington Avenue is being maintained.

For the complete article, see the Wednesday, April 29, 2009, Fairfield Ledger.