Well, you didn't link to an article, just a picture. But I guess I'd say if you put money into an area, and it grows enough that you need to redo the roads, couldn't you say that the stimulus worked?
A third of a mile of busy Collins Road NE by Lindale Mall is set for two years of construction beginning this spring as part of a $15.4 million project that will widen the section to six lanes and raise it up to 13 feet.
At the same time, a section of Lindale Drive NE will drop 6 feet to extend under the elevated Collins Road — giving motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists a new access from the north side of the highway to Lindale Mall on the south side.
Gary Petersen, capital improvements project manager for the Cedar Rapids Public Works Department, said this week that it’s far from routine for the city to raise a road like this.
Petersen said the new two-lane route on Lindale Drive under Collins Road will feature 8-foot-wide sidewalks on each side that will give pedestrians and bicyclists an inviting option in one of the city’s principal commercial centers where few options now are in place for them.
Emily Muhlbach, communications coordinator for the city’s Development Services Department, said the underpass will allow shoppers to park at a mall on one side of Collins Road and walk to shops on the other side of the road. Now, people feel obliged to move between malls in their cars because pedestrian options are so limited, she said.
“It’s a shift in how people can access those retail opportunities,” Muhlbach said.
Details of the project were presented to the City Council’s Infrastructure Committee this week, and council member Ann Poe called the changes that will address needs of pedestrians “critical.” She said watching people with children trying to make their way on Collins Road is “frightening.”
The road-raising phase also will include new pedestrian features at the main Collins Road entrance to Lindale Mall and to the entrance road at the Collins Crossing center across the street. Those will include a pedestrian underpass at the Collins Crossing entrance.
The entire Collins Road NE widening project, which has been years in the making and could take up to another five to 20 years to complete, will incorporate the city’s “complete streets” policy into the construction. That means a road that will accommodate not just motorists, but pedestrians and bicyclists, Petersen said.
The council’s Infrastructure Committee endorsed a plan to upgrade materials to be used for the underpass on Lindale Drive and retaining walls that are part of it. The committee selected a midrange upgrade, which will add $119,479 to the project cost, and held out the option to spend an extra $332,231 for the best upgrade if bids come in lower than expected. The project will be bid Jan. 20.
Poe expressed concern that the project calls for the removal of existing frontage roads on the north side of Collins Road NE. As a result, motorists will need to use mall parking lots to make their way east and west in parts of that side of the highway.
Petersen said the new underpass at Lindale Drive will reduce the numbers of motorists who need to cut through parking lots.
Petersen put the construction cost of this part of the Collins Road NE project from Twixt Town Road to east of Northland Drive NE at $10 million. The total project cost is $15.4 million when engineering and design, property acquisition and other pre-construction costs are factored in. Much of the money is coming from federal and state grants. The city’s share of the cost is about $3 million, Petersen said.
He said construction should begin in April with utility work along the route. Part of the bridge to carry the elevated Collins Road NE will be built in 2016 as will improvements to the entrances of Lindale and Collins Crossing malls, he said.
Petersen said temporary road lanes on the south side of Collins Road will help to keep the road open during construction. The work should be complete by the end of 2017 with some cleanup possible in 2018, he said.
The work is the third phase of the Collins Road NE project. The first phase widened and improved the intersection and approaches to it on Collins Road NE and First Avenue NE, and the second phase improved Northland Avenue NE on the north side of Collins Road NE.
The entire project will widen Collins Road NE from just east of First Avenue East to west of Council Street NE and to the ramps at Center Point Road NE.
Petersen said the project cost now probably reaches $100 million.
http://www.kcrg.com/subject/news/near-lindale-mall-major-work-coming-for-collins-road-20151014
