The contractor for the Trout Run Trail bike bridge across Highway 9--Cramer & Associates--is suggesting to the Iowa Department of Transportation that it will be able to build the bridge without needing a detour. The move could save around $70,000, which would be divided evenly between Cramer and the City of Decorah.
City Engineer Lindsay Erdman says the proposal calls for using concrete barriers to keep traffic away from the bridge construction sites and for closing down one of the two lanes in each direction. Cramer & Associates engineers are currently working with the Iowa Department of Transportation to answer any questions the DOT might have.
City Street Committee chair Gary Rustad is enthusiastic about the proposal. He says the concept would not only save the city $35,000, it would "eliminate a lot of the hassles" that would come from detouring traffic. City officials had originally discussed a plan to build an extension to Short Street that would connect to Highway 52 south of Highway 9. However, city officials were not enthusiastic about the idea.