AMES, Iowa – Dec. 5, 2022 – The City of Boone, Boone County, Iowa Department of Transportation, and Fareway Stores, Inc., invite you to join them in celebrating the opening of the Iowa 17 overpass at a ceremony Wednesday, December 7, 2022. When: Wednesday, December 7 at 3:00 p.m. Where: Cobblestone Inn & Suites, 1900 Lakewood Dr, Boone The Iowa DOT constructed the overpass to improve your safety and traffic flow in the area by allowing traffic to move over...
Two goals from Mary Fowler are not enough for the Matildas in a disappointing 3-2 defeat against the Republic of Ireland in their international friendly in Dublin.
cthompson@messengernews.net
GOWRIE — Curves along an otherwise straight stretch of road between Harcourt and Gowrie have caused numerous single-vehicle crashes throughout the course of Greg Benson’s career as a firefighter. And that’s why he’s advocating that they be removed.
“We’ve been to a lot of wrecks over there with our Jaws of Life,” said Benson, a retired Gowrie fire chief who was a volunteer firefighter for 47 years. “There’s been one fatality that I know of.”
The curves are located along Iowa Highway 175 near Kansas Avenue. The bend in the road was to accommodate a railroad crossing there. But Benson said that crossing hasn’t been there in over 40 years.
New improvements could be coming for the old Highway 69 Share Updated: 11:45 PM CST Dec 13, 2020 Share Updated: 11:45 PM CST Dec 13, 2020
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Show Transcript >> EVERY DAY, MORE THAN 40,000 CARS TRAVEL HERE ON U.S. HIGHWAY 69, ALSO KNOWN AS EAST 14TH. AND NOW IT’S TIME FOR SOME BIG CHANGES. SOUTH EAST 14TH, NORTH EAST 14TH, WHATEVER YOU CALL THE 12-MILE STRETCH OF U.S. HIGHWAY 69 THROUGH DES MOINES, YOU’LL ALWAYS CALL IT BUSY. AND THAT’S WHY THE DOT IS TAKING A CLOSER LOOK AT MAKING IT BETTER. >> WE HAVEN’T TAKEN COMPREHENSIVE STUDY AT 69 IN DECADES. >> DOT DISTRICT ENGINEER TONY GUSTAFSON IS THE MAN IN CHARGE OF MAKING OVER U.S.-69. MANY IDEAS HAVE BUBBLED UP IN PLANNING MEETINGS AND PUBLIC HEARINGS. THEY INCLUDE SEVERAL MAJOR PROJECTS. ONE IS TO CREATE A BETTER INTERCHANGE TO GET FROM EAST 14TH TO THE NEW ML KING BLVD. INITIAL PLANS CALL FOR NEW EXIT AND ENTRANCE RAMPS THAT COULD HAPPEN BY 2025. ANOTHER IS TO BUILD A NEW BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER. THE CURRENT BRIDGE IS OUT OF DATE. THE DOT IS ALSO LOOKING AT INSTALLING BIKE LANES, MORE RAISED MEDIANS AND, PERHAPS THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL, ROUNDABOUT AT SOME NORTH EAST 14TH RESIDENTIAL INTERSECTIONS. ROUNDABOUTS ARE INITIALLY MORE EXPENSIVE BUT PAY OFF LATER ON. >> IT ELIMINATES TRAFFIC SIGNALS, SO IT’S LESS ENERGY AND LESS MAINTENANCE. IT SLOWS PEOPLE DOWN, AND THE SLOWER THE PEOPLE DRIVE, THE SAFER THE ROADWAY IS NORMALLY. >> ROUNDABOUTS WOULD TAKE SOME PRACTICE FOR DRIVERS. BUT ONE WE TALKED TO SAYS ANYTHING TO HELP THE BUSY TRAFFIC ON U.S.-69 WOULD HELP. >> I THINK IT WOULD MAKE IT A LOT BETTER. IT IS VERY HECTIC AROUND HERE. I THINK IT DEFINITELY WOULD HELP TO HAVE THAT GOING FOR US. >> SAFETY IS THE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY AT THE DOT. THE GOAL OF THE STUDY IS TO MAKE IT MORE SAFER FOR ALL TO TRAVEL. >> THE DOT SAYS THE CHANGES FOR HIGHWAY 69 ARE STILL IN THE PLANNING STAGES, AND IT COULD BE AT LEAST FIVE YEARS BEFORE THEY’RE IMPLEME