Businesses near central Iowa interstate construction adapt to challenges
When construction commenced on Interstate 35/80, businesses in the area immediately began feeling the impact.
A nail salon expressed gratitude to its loyal customers through a message board, acknowledging their continued support despite the ongoing construction work.
Meanwhile, Fresh Fit health food shop anticipated a financial setback but was surprised by the actual extent of the disruption.
“I didn’t expect it to affect us as much as it did,” said James Norton, Fresh Fit’s manager.
However, he noted a recent recovery in business as customers gradually regain their footing.
“It’s starting to get a little bit better now. Everyone is starting to figure out where we are again,” he said.
Not every business faced challenges during this period.
Great Clips, where Charlie Nova works, has maintained steady sales, though she remains concerned about the transportation situation.
“It is kind of frustrating sometimes,” she said, citing issues with changes such as the removal of a turn lane and the constant noise from construction.
“Sometimes it’s frustrating dealing with all the construction noise,” she added.
Safety issues have also been a major concern along the I-35/80 construction zone.
The Iowa Department of Transportation's Crash Analysis Tool documented several accidents since work began, with 11 identified as work-related.
Many of these incidents were not directly caused by construction itself.
“The accidents recently that I’ve reviewed, unfortunately, have not been secured load or issues with trailers. A lot of those have been caused by hauling equipment,” said Iowa DOT engineer Frank Leong.
Frank Leong also addressed the frequent traffic slowdowns around the construction zone, calling them inevitable due to the stretch’s current capacity.
The problems arise from a mismatch between the volume of vehicles and the road’s ability to handle the weight of traffic.
“We’re under capacity for the amount of traffic that we have out there right now,” Leong said, reinforcing the need for the ongoing freeway widening project. “Hence why we’re doing our freeway widening project that we have. So we have quite a bit of backups due to that.”
As the construction moves forward, businesses and residents alike are both looking toward a better future and dealing with the challenges in the present.
Local businesses express hope that customer patronage will fully rebound when the project concludes, while the Iowa DOT assures residents that the widening project will ultimately alleviate current traffic woes.
Until then, frustrations from construction noise and delays linger, but optimism remains for the eventual improvements to the I-35/80 corridor.