The Stange Road construction closure, between 13th Street and Bruner Drive, is indicated in red on the map. Submitted image.
Repairs and upgrades to the Stange Road bridge over Squaw Creek on the north side of campus will close all four lanes of the road for about 30 days, beginning Monday, May 9. Stange will be closed from 13th Street to just south of Bruner Drive. Schilletter/University Village, University Community Childcare and Veenker golf course will remain accessible from the north.
The work includes grinding off the top inch of the road surface, replacing damaged concrete areas underneath, pouring a new road surface and laying a stretch of asphalt at either end of the bridge surface to match road and bridge heights. In addition, a series of metal rails will be added to the bridge's guardrails to raise their height about 18 inches and close unsafe gaps in the original design.
Detours (pedestrians exempt)
Although all vehicles will be detoured, project manager Angie Solberg, facilities planning and management, said one bridge sidewalk should remain open for pedestrians and bicyclists. A closure of both sidewalks would occur only between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. – and after a 48-hour advance notice.
Solberg said detour signs will route southbound drivers east on 24th Street to Grand Avenue, south on Grand to 13th Street, and west on 13th back to Stange Road.
CyRide's Brown and Blue bus routes, which normally use Stange Road north of campus, won't travel any farther west than Hoover Avenue (Brown route) and Northwestern Avenue (Blue route) in north Ames, and will use Northwestern as a north-south arterial. However, CyRide will use additional buses to service all the bus stops cut off by these detours, and riders should pay attention to the destination listed on the bus fronts (for example, Mall vs. Schilletter Village). Pickup times won't change, but shuttle riders should allow an extra four to six minutes to reach their destinations since the shuttle buses also will backtrack to Northwestern Avenue.
CyRide will post revised schedules noting these changes prior to May 9.
Target reopening: June 8
Solberg said the contractor, Grimes-based Cramer and Associates, has a 30-day contract (through June 7), with incentives and penalties for finishing early or late.
