City awarded $344,640 grant for 5th St. truck route
By Shelia Tomkins
The City of Guttenberg has been awarded a $344,640 federal grant that will be used to change a truck route in north Guttenberg from Third Street to Fifth Street. The project is slated to begin in fiscal year 2022-23.
The award came as the result of a successful grant application written by City Manager Denise Schneider.
Currently trucks travel from Highway 52 to Haydn Street, then east across the railroad tracks and proceed north on Third Street to Kosciousko Street, again crossing the railroad tracks west to the Great River Road.
The grant will pay for 80% of the projected cost for a 7-in. surface overlay on North Fifth Street from Haydn to Kosiusko, providing a solid base for heavy truck traffic and a shorter, safer route.
"I am excited to be able to move the truck route which will make North Third Street, Haydn and Kosciusko Streets safer for our motorists, residents, bicyclist, and pedestrians," said the city manager. "This project will also keep trucks from having to cross the railroad tracks and save a lot of wear and tear on North Third Street. Another bonus is that trucks will no longer be driving between Darwin Duwe Field and the new pool where children tend to cross the street a lot."
The grant funds are available under the Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) - Swap Grant program. Funds are allocated through a Regional Planning Affiliate, in this case the Upper Exploreland Regional Planning Commission.
Veenstra Kimm Engineering assisted with the grant application by preparing the project concept drawings and cost estimates at no cost to the city. "Ray Peterson, County Board of Supervisors, supported the application. The project funding comes out of Clayton County’s share of this federal funding mechanism in future fiscal years," noted Schneider.
In preparation for the project, the city manager will be working with Clayton County and the Iowa Department of Transportation to change the city's Third Street Federal Function Classification and Farm-to-Market Road designations from North Third Street to North Fifth Street. She will also work with the city council to change the truck route from North Third Street to North Fifth Street once the project is complete.
A second grant application that sought funds to improve for a sidewalk extension on West Schiller Street was unsuccessful, but will hopefully be funded as part of the Schiller Street Corridor Project Great Places Grant Application.
