City of Iowa City news release
With winter weather here, roadway paving is complete for the year on the Court Street Reconstruction Project. Work will continue on other aspects of the project with the goal of improving traffic flow during the winter months.
Weather permitting, Muscatine Avenue is expected to reopen to two-way traffic in December. At that time, the west leg of Court Street will reopen to Muscatine Avenue as a T-intersection with a stop sign on Court Street. Seventh Avenue is also anticipated to reopen at that time and Court Street will reopen from Seventh Avenue west to Fairview Avenue.
Traffic signal work is anticipated to continue into January. When the traffic signal at Muscatine Avenue and Court Street is operational, Court Street will fully reopen to vehicle traffic for the winter months. However, most of the sidewalk along Court Street between Grant Street and Seventh Avenue will not be installed until spring 2026.
Project delays
Original plans for the 2025 construction season called for Court Street improvements to be completed from Grant Street to Wales Street. However, various private utility conflicts encountered during construction delayed the project. Permanent roadway paving, storm sewer, water main, and sanitary sewer were installed from Grant Street through Seventh Avenue, but did not reach Wales Street. This work will instead be completed in the 2026 construction season.
We appreciate your patience as we work through this important project.
Pedestrian and Iowa City Transit impacts
Temporary sidewalks will be placed on Seventh Avenue through the Court Street intersection along with curb ramps on the west side of the intersection to provide an accessible route to school and transit stops. Sidewalks along Court Street will remain closed between Muscatine Avenue and Seventh Avenue. Pedestrians traveling to Longfellow Elementary School and surrounding areas should continue to use the detour of Seventh Avenue and Center Avenue.
Information on Iowa City Transit impacts related to this work will be shared in a subsequent press release.
Stay informed
Stay up to date with the Court Street Reconstruction Project by visiting the project page or subscribing to press releases by going to icgov.org/subscribe and selecting “Court Street Reconstruction Project” under the Construction and Housing section.
