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CHARLES CITY PRESS | WWW.CHARLESCITYPRESS.COM | FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 2025
From Main Street to City Hall, Charles City continues work on capital improvements Press photo by Travis Fischer Getting around downtown was a little tricky this past year as work took place on the Main Street Rehabilitation Project. Main Steet parking was closed at various times and side streets had limited access while asphalt work was underway, but a much smoother road and realigned north part of the street were the result.
Here today, gone tomorrow; Charles City’s speed cameras get a short run By Travis Fischer tk fi scher@charlescitypress.com Charles City’s short-lived experiment with auto- mated traf fi c cameras was a hot topic in 2024. Intended to slow down vehicles on high traf fi c roads such as South Grand Avenue, Police Chief Hugh Anderson had approached the City Council in 2023 with a plan to place a series of automated cameras at the city’s major entries and exits to de- ter drivers from speeding. The city contracted the services of Altumint Inc. to install and operate the cameras in exchange for a portion of the revenue from the civil infraction fees it would generate. The system would capture speeding drivers on camera and send the images to the Police Depart- ment for review to determine if a civil infraction was warranted. Some City Council members had concerns about the program, but were assuaged by assur- ances that there would be a level of human discre- tion in the system and that the cameras themselves would be set to fl ag truly excessive speeders – those going more than 10 mph over the posted limit. CAMERAS , turn to page B7 Press photo by Travis Fischer Speed limit cameras were a short-lived and unlikely-to-return experiment in Charles City in 2024.
By Travis Fischer tk fi scher@charlescitypress.com It was a busy year of capital improvements for Charles City in 2024, and 2025 continues the same pace. The big ticket item of last year’s construction season was the Main Street rehabilitation, a $2.4 million project to resurface down- town Charles City’s main thor- oughfare. Contracted to Heartland As- phalt, work on the project began in May, kicking off a months-long process of curb and gutter repairs, sidewalk replacements, and as- phalting from Gilbert Street all the way to Lane Street. The project also reworked the north end of Main Street into a new curve going into North Grand Avenue. While downtown business owners said they appreciated the results and praised the contractors for their efforts to minimize dis- ruption to the greatest extent pos- sible, they also noted a frustrating decline in foot traf fi c as people dealt with changing lane closings and blocked side streets. Summer events like the Independence Day parade had to fi gure out routes that avoided the blocked off portions of the road and sidewalks. Roughly six months passed before the substantial work was completed, but by late October
the paving was done, new lines were painted, and the street was reopened. “I think it turned out really well,” said Mayor Dean Andrews. “It was a little disruption for the people on Main Street, but I think our crew and the engineers, Veen- stra and Kimm, did a really good job of informing people of that process.” Beyond the Main Street project, the city also contracted Heartland Construction to build an extension to 13th Street that would connect it west to Corporate Drive, which would facilitate planned residen- tial developments in the South- west Development Park. The 13th Street extension coin- cided with a land swap between the city and Floyd County Med- ical Center, which traded several acres of land suitable for housing development in exchange for the eastern part of 13th Street. The 13th Street extension proj- ect was closed out in February of 2025, coming in at an unexpect- edly low cost of $310,779.70, roughly 6.2% under the original bid. Vehicle streets weren’t the only roads that got extended last year either. The city also worked on plans for an extension to the Char- ley Western Trail with a proposal that would convert a portion of 11th Avenue into the bike trail. The portion of 11th Avenue in
question was never actually a real street, but an accidentally illegal encroachment on the adjacent rail- road right-of-way that had been there for longer than living memo- ry. An agreement was made with the railroad to remove the street and use the space for the trail ex- tension. Outside of Main Street, the city also made plans for current- ly ongoing improvements and repairs to Lion’s Field Pool. The $643,000 project doesn’t add new features or amenities, but does address needed repairs to the pool and its mechanical system. As the Main Street project came to an end, the city was already well underway in preparing for its next big project, a major renova- tion for the City Hall and Police Department. With a pressing deadline to use federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, the city spent the better part of 2024 moving toward the project, going over plans, securing bids, and arranging for temporary of fi ces as the renova- tions are anticipated to go through 2025 and well into 2026. Interior demolition of the build- ing is already underway and the next 16 months will see the build- ing transformed inside and out into a larger and more modern looking structure with up-to-date features for accessibility and se- curity.
“I think that’s going to be a real plus,” said Andrews. “Not just be- ing more accessible and safer, but being up to date and current with the times.” The City Hall renovation will likely be the biggest project for the city this year, however another major infrastructure project will also demand attention sooner rath- er than later. Showing signs of degradation in the wake of last year’s summer fl ooding, the Main Street Bridge has jumped up several spots on the city’s list of priorities. The 115-year-old bridge was temporarily closed during the fl oods and re-opened with a 28- ton weight limit. Since then the city has been weighing options for either repair or replacement, either of which will be a major endeavor. Right now, the City Council is waiting for a report to determine the exact state of the bridge so members can begin making a plan for both what needs to be done with the bridge and how to handle the inevitable disruption to traf fi c. “The main thing that the City Council wants to do is fi nd out what the status of that bridge is,” said Mayor Andrews. “If and when it has to be closed, we want to have a plan for what to do when that day comes.”
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