Many individuals in Cedar Falls would agree University Avenue has seen better days.     The six lane ‘corridor’ from Highway 58 to Midway Drive is in a state of disrepair, and the city of Cedar Falls has recently acquired jurisdiction from the Department of Transportation to reconstruct the road. 

According to the University Avenue Reconstruction website, the damage is too severe to simply repair the existing road with material below the roadway.

The repairs will commence in 2016, when the road will be completely destroyed and rebuilt safely.  

“The problem is the concrete underneath is crumbling so even if we went out and melted it all off and put asphalt over the top, it would have a very short life span,” said Ron Gaines, project manager for the city of Cedar Falls.

With their proposed plan that could cost anywhere from $16 to 25 million, the city of Cedar Falls will strive to improve road conditions, enhance safety, increase pedestrian and bicycle mobility and have an improved traffic flow. 

The City Council has identified eight project priorities, which range from a safe and accommodating design that moves all forms of traffic as efficiently as possible to the consideration of a multiple phase master landscaping plan.

Another major consideration is to alter the road from six lanes, three lanes in each direction, to four lanes, two lanes both ways. 

“University Avenue is three lanes in both directions though the majority of the corridor will be reduced from six lanes to four because the traffic volume that is out there does not support six lanes,” Gaines said. 

This project has been ongoing since 2010 and should finish by 2018. Cedar Falls is looking at design possibilities. These could include bike lanes, trailer and landscaping possibilities. Once the design is finalized, construction will begin. 

“Once we know what the final design is,” Gaines said, “we will go into the destruction stage and how we are going to maintain access to all the businesses and all that.”

One possible design scheme  is the incorporation of ‘complete streets,’ according to the University Avenue reconstruction website. This type of street includes accommodations for all users including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and transit riders of all ages and abilities. 

“The one thing that we want to do is move traffic safely and efficiently through the corridor,” Gaines said. “So we are looking at all the intersections and what is the safest way to move traffic through there the safest and most efficient way to cut down the number of conflict points.”