Central City welcomes Highway 13 repaving plans

A project to resurface and pave shoulders along eight miles of Highway 13 between County Home Road and Central City couldn't have come too soon for some commuters in Central City.

A bid-letting was conducted Jan. 19 for the project. Work is slated to begin on April 4, according to John Vu, project engineer for the Iowa Department of Transportation District 6 office in Cedar Rapids. The contractor eventually selected after bids are tabulated will have 120 working dates to complete the project.

The new asphalt surface will go from 0.7 miles north of County Home Road to 0.5 miles north of Central City. It will total almost eight miles including bridges, and includes paving four-foot shoulders on both sides of the lane.

A high percentage of Central City residents commute to jobs in the Cedar Rapids area, and dread traveling the current deteriorated Highway 13 surface, according to Julie Renberg, Central City's Mainstreet program director.

Renberg said she's heard at least one blown tire blamed on road conditions, and several people have told her they use alternate routes to Cedar Rapids to avoid Highway 13.

“Bone-jarring is what a lot of people say about it,” Renberg said.

The Highway 13 work comes as Central City prepares to complete improvements on its Main Street on the east side of town.