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MEDIAPOLIS, Iowa (AP) — Just north of Burlington, U.S. 61 becomes decidedly more rural. As tree canopies fade into farmland, the highway narrows to two lanes.
Several miles later, U.S. 61 then runs through Mediapolis, a small town of about 1,500. The highway, called Wapello Road in town, passes several gas stations, a restaurant and grocery store before continuing north to its final endpoint in Minnesota.
The Hawk Eye (http://bit.ly/2a2lvOc ) reports that in a few years, though, the road will bypass Mediapolis as it does Fort Madison and other cities. Instead of the many roads branching from 61 that now extend into the city, Mediapolis will have one entry point from the highway.
"Instead of going through town, we're bypassing," said Iowa Department of Transportation engineer Jim Armstrong. "We aren't cutting off Mediapolis."
U.S. 61 stretches from New Orleans to Wyoming, Minnesota, roughly following the path of the Mississippi River. Because of this, it's often referred to as the Great River Road or The Blues Highway, reflecting its passage through blues hubs like New Orleans, Memphis and St. Louis.
In Iowa, most of the highway is a divided four lanes. One of the few remaining undivided two-lane stretches runs from north of Burlington to a mile south of Iowa 78 in Louisa County.
Iowa Department of Transportation contractors began widening 6 miles of the highway in Louisa County in April, and they hope to have a four-lane divided there by late 2018. Next up is 10 miles from Memorial Park Road in Burlington to 210th Street south of Mediapolis. The $46.1 million project was approved in late June, with construction anticipated to start next year. It should be finished in 2021.
Also in 2021, IDOT will begin acquiring right of way to extend the four-lane highway from 210th Street to 235th Street, bypassing Mediapolis. $1.4 million is budgeted for this.
Plans call for a diamond interchange about 0.3 miles west of town.
It will limit traffic into town to one road: Mediapolis Road or H38, also known as Main Street in town. H38 already connects to Des Moines County 99, the other way to get from Burlington to Mediapolis, to the east.
Having just one route from U.S. 61 into town raised alarm bells for Mediapolis resident and Des Moines County law enforcement.
"We know the bypass is going to happen," Mediapolis Mayor Gina Riherd said. "Our concern is about the safety and response if an accident is going to happen."
As a smaller town, Mediapolis does not sustain its own police force. Instead, it contracts with the Des Moines County Sheriff, paying about $90,000 a year for deputies to patrol. Mediapolis does have a fire department, though it often works with Burlington.
In a meeting with Armstrong, Des Moines County Sheriff Mike Johnstone said having only one access point into the city from U.S. 61 won't work for law enforcement or fire.
"Your plan is going to leave us with one entrance and one exit out of the city of Mediapolis, which is totally unacceptable," he said. "It's a bad decision, and it's a bad plan."
If Mediapolis Road is blocked, emergency responders and people getting in and out of town will have to rely on gravel or dirt roads.
H38 has been blocked before. A few years ago, a semitrailer turning onto the Yarmouth blacktop got stuck in a ditch and blocked H38, Mediapolis city clerk Julie Tribbey said.
"I think that really stuck in everybody's mind," she said.
Having multiple access points to U.S. 61 from Mediapolis would help, Riherd said.
Ideally, an interchange to the south would join the planned bypass west of town.
Because Mediapolis High School is to the north of the city along U.S. 61, Riherd said she understood not having an access point at 235th Street to avoid having too many student drivers on the highway.
Multiple access points from freeways don't fit with new construction guidelines IDOT follows.
Danville and New London both have three access points from U.S. 34, and they both have seen multiple accidents, some fatal.
"When you look at all that goes into Danville, there have been dead people at more than one of those crossings," said Des Moines County Supervisor Bob Beck, a member of the Highway 61 coalition.
IDOT began adapting its designs to create fewer interchanges and fewer at-grade intersections to avoid accidents.
Johnstone contended the department was using accidents in New London and Danville as an excuse.
"Any time you put a road in, anyone can tell you this, you're going to have accidents until people get used to this," he said.
Johnstone, who's worked Highway 61 as a law enforcement officer for 40 years, said he is confident IDOT will build a safe road despite his concerns about the access into Mediapolis.
Des Moines County will look at changing its own roads to make access in and out of Mediapolis better, county engineer Brian Carter said.
Many of the roads in the area are dirt because of limited use, he said.
"You can get around, but you're going to go a long ways if the dirt roads are wet," he said.
Johnstone also asked about safety concerns with school buses dropping children off along the highway.
Representatives from the transportation departments of the Danville and Mediapolis school districts, which would be most affected by the upgrade, did not respond to requests for comment.
The Burlington School District already deals with four-lane highways because of students who live along U.S. 61 just north or south of town.
"Our biggest concern with four lanes is the people in the state of Iowa," school transportation supervisor Mark Branch said. "For some reason, they think they can pass on the yellow."
Most people recognize if a school bus has its flashing red lights on and stop sign out, they cannot pass it unless they're on the other side of a four-lane highway.
If a bus has its flashing yellow lights on, it's indicating it's going to stop. Cars behind it or traveling the same direction in a different lane must stop then, too.
Failing to do so results in a hefty ticket and mandatory driver's license suspension.
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Information from: The Hawk Eye, http://www.thehawkeye.com
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