Highway 30 Bridge East of Cedar Rapids To Be Replaced

One of the most concerning things you so often hear about Iowa roads is that we have more bridges in need of repair than any other state in the U.S. Six out of every ten bridges in the Hawkeye state are labeled either "poor" or "fair". Here in Linn County, a heavily-traveled bridge on Highway 30 is scheduled for replacement.

The Highway 30 eastbound bridge over the Cedar River, east of Cedar Rapids, will be replaced in 2022. The Gazette reports the bridge, which opened to traffic in the fall of 1953, was the first "welded I-girder bridge" built in the state of Iowa.

Though preparation work for the bridge's replacement started a couple of months ago, the approximate 24,000 vehicles that travel Highway 30 in that area each day won't see major impacts until sometime in April of 2022. That's when work begins to remove the existing bridge.

Construction crews are already working on the median crossovers that will eventually take traffic from the eastbound side of Highway 30 to the westbound side, where they'll cross the Cedar River. Lane reductions can be expected while that process continues. Other preparation work will continue throughout the upcoming winter.

The Iowa Department of Transportation also has signs posted, asking river traffic to stay out of the area due to construction hazards.

The Gazette says the total cost for the Highway 30 eastbound bridge replacement project is $10.3 million. Work is scheduled to be completed by mid-November of 2022.

The Highway 30 westbound bridge over the Cedar River was built in the 1970s. It is not scheduled for replacement.