Highway 52 construction will continue into July

The construction on Highway 52 that has gone on longer than anticipated is planned to be finished in July according to Iowa DOT officials.

The project, which was started last spring and was supposed to be finished in November, was intended to check the structural strength of the highway. According to Iowa DOT Public Information Officer Pete Hjelmstad, the condition of the highway was worse than expected.

"Once we got into work with checking joints, it was found that the damage was much worse than we thought" Hjelmstad said. "The project was extended so that we could meet our safety standards."

The DOT plans to patch and reinforce the joints of the highway as well as diamond grind the roadway for a smoother pavement surface. July is the tentative end date, but officials said that it could go longer.