Monday, March 24, 2014

The westbound exit from Interstate 80 to Dubuque Street will be closed for construction starting next month and will create disruption for university-bound traffic, including for the Hawkeye spring football game and commencement weekend.

The project is expected to begin Monday, March 31 and will close the westbound exit ramp from Interstate 80 onto Dubuque Street (Exit 244) starting Tuesday, April 8 weather permitting. Dubuque Street itself will be reduced to one of lane of traffic going in each direction from Linder Road north of the freeway to Foster Road to the south.

The eastbound exit at Dubuque Street ramp will remain open throughout the project.

Dubuque Street will remain fully open in front of Mayflower Residence Hall, but access will be occasionally restricted by construction activities and traffic back-ups.

Westbound traffic exiting off Interstate 80 traffic will be diverted to the First Avenue exit in Coralville (Exit 242). The detour will provide for traffic to return to Dubuque Street on the eastbound lanes to the Dubuque Street exit. The Dodge Street exit (Exit 246) will also be available as an alternate route to campus.

Construction is expected to be completed in early June, which means the exit will be closed during the Hawkeye spring football game April 26 and commencement weekend, May 16-18. People attending those events should take the traffic changes into consideration when planning their visits to Iowa City.