BOONE, Iowa—The planned reconstruction of a portion of L Avenue in Boone County, south of U.S. Highway 30 was originally expected to begin in mid-July, but Scott Kruse, Boone County Engineer noted that other projects in the state have been delayed due to COVID-19 which allowed the Boone County project to get moved forward by Godbersen-Smith Construction.  Kruse released a letter with information about the project:

Due to COVID-19 restrictions the Boone County Engineer’s office is sending this letter in lieu of a public meeting to give information about an upcoming project in your area. Boone County recently awarded a contract to Godbersen-Smith Construction for the PCC Paving of L Avenue (R18) from US Highway 30 south 0.8 miles. This construction will encompass the intersection of L Ave and Moingona Rd/230^th St. Due to the closure of the intersection a detour route will be established.

The project is divided into two phases. One phase will be a short section of pavement that includes the intersection of Moingona Rd and L Ave and a short stretch of road to the south. This smaller phase will allow the contractor to rapidly complete this section and reopen the intersection to traffic. During the closure of the intersection, traffic from Moingona Rd will need to follow the detour which takes 240^th St between Moingona Rd and L Ave (DetourIntersectionWork1). Once the small section of intersection work is complete, traffic from Moingona Rd and 230^th St can take L Ave south while work on the next phase between the intersection and Highway 30 takes place. Between removal of pavement and paving operations, traffic from Moingona Rd and 230^th St will be allowed to drive through the intersection on the crushed stone base to travel south on L Ave. Traffic is urged to exercise caution when traversing the intersection.

The phase of construction for work between the Moingona Rd intersection and Highway 30 will be a longer stretch which in turn will require more working days to complete. Traffic to and from 222^nd Dr during both phases of construction will need to access their destination using 222^nd Dr from Highway 30.

A signed detour route will be established during the course of the construction which will utilize Highway 169 and 270^th St. We have enclosed a map (DetourHillWork1 )which outlines in red the detour that will be set up. Work was initially set to begin in mid-July. However, due to COVID-19, projects in different regions of the State have gotten canceled or delayed which has moved the Boone County project forward. The contractor now intends on commencing work on May 13^th. We sincerely apologize for the late notice and inconvenience that this will cause. Every effort will be made to complete this work as soon as possible. The traveling public is urged to use caution during the construction of this project.

Please contact our office at 515-433-0530 if you have any questions. Check our website www.boonecounty.iowa.gov on the front page “News” section for updates throughout the project.