T-R PHOTOS BY LANA BRADSTREAM Electric message boards placed in front of the Center Street Viaduct alert drivers of the upcoming closure on Monday. People will have to take detours to get to destinations in Marshalltown for about 120 days.

Marshalltown residents who regularly travel Center Street near downtown will have to find an alternate route starting Monday.

The City of Marshalltown will close the Center Street Viaduct for an estimated 120 days to take care of necessary repairs. Public Works Director Heather Thomas said electronic message boards were placed on Center Street on both sides of the viaduct on Friday to give residents ample notice.

“The [Iowa] DOT (Department of Transportation) set the working day, and determined 120 days,” she said. “We anticipate it will be closed during the 2026 construction season.”

The length of the project is due to several pieces. Thomas said the piece which will have the most interest to residents will be replacement of the roller bearings and finger expansion joints. That is one of the largest pieces, she said, and is badly needed.

“The biggest concern was the expansion joints and roller bearings,” she said. “They were corroded because they are original to the bridge. They have seized up and caused some elevation difference at the finger joints. That is why there is a driving weight limit. When it’s all done, the weight limit will be taken off and we will provide a smoother ride for people going over the viaduct.”

The city crews will also perform a partial depth overlay of the bridge deck over the north abutment, repair the south abutment slab and the north vaulted abutment near the gun club, replace deck drains and improve the pedestrian railing.

“For the railing, it will be either replacement or repainting — whichever will be the most cost effective,” Thomas said.

One of the primary detours will be to the 3rd Avenue Viaduct. The ramps on the south end of the Center Street Viaduct will be kept open so residents can still get access to the YMCA/YWCA and other businesses.

Travelers who usually use 3rd to avoid Center Street traffic may encounter more activity. According to Thomas, a traffic count on Center Street found that 9,500 cars travel it per day, but 14,500 are on 3rd each day. To compare, she said 7,300 vehicles are on 18th Avenue.

“There will be impacts on traffic,” Thomas said. “We hope people will use the 3rd Avenue Viaduct to keep traffic moving, and we will have temporary traffic signals.”

Movement may increase on July 22 when RAGBRAI hits Marshalltown, and Thomas anticipates that Center Street to still be closed. The city has been communicating with RAGBRAI committees to figure out how to move the traffic along. It is just another piece of the puzzle for the city to put into place for a project that has been in the works for roughly six years.

According to Thomas, the DOT completed a study in 2020 to decide whether or not the viaduct just needed repairs or a phased approach.

“We are taking a phased approach,” she said. “The future phases include painting and steel, which are years down the road. The viaduct will not be worked on in back to back phases.”

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Contact Lana Bradstream

at 641-753-6601 ext. 210 or

lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.