Prepare for more traffic headaches in Waterloo starting next week. The second stage of the U.S. Highway 63 reconstruction project is scheduled to begin on Monday (May 1, 2017).

According to the Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT), road work on southbound U.S. 63 will force the closure of Mullan Ave. between Jefferson and Franklin streets. Local traffic will be shifted to one lane in each direction utilizing the highway's northbound lanes on 1st Street. A middle lane will allow left turns at intersections.

The two-way traffic pattern on 1st Street -- normally a one-way road -- is expected to be in place until late July, weather permitting.

Photo By: Elwin Huffman - Townsquare Media
Photo By: Elwin Huffman - Townsquare Media
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Through traffic on U.S. 63 will continue to be detoured around the construction zone, with southbound traffic being sent onto Airline Hwy., Airport Blvd. and U.S. Highway 218 to the U.S. 63 interchange approaching downtown Waterloo. The same detour route, in reverse order, is in place for northbound motorists.

The U.S. 63 reconstruction project will also impact pedestrians walking from one side of the city to the other.

IDOT officials said the Mullan Ave. bridge sidewalk will be closed during the project. Pedestrians can use the existing river crossing on 1st Street, but they'll have to use steps to access the sidewalk.

Once the reconstruction project begins, the closest pedestrian crossing compliant to Americans with Disability Act (ADA) will be the Park Avenue bridge, three blocks east of the work zone. It will be the only ADA-accessible pedestrian river crossing open within a five-block area.

The city of Waterloo currently has the 4th Street bridge pedestrian crossing under repair.

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