Hartley, Iowa — If you are headed from our area east to Spencer or the Iowa Great Lakes, for the Labor Day Weekend, there’s good news. You will no longer be detoured around the Waterman Creek Bridge on Highway 18.
According to Iowa Department of Transportation Planner Dakin Schultz, Highway 18 is now open.
(as said:) “This was a bridge replacement. It was over Waterman Creek on US 18 just west of Hartley and the contactor opened US 18, so we took it off detour today.”
Schultz says while the drought has been an issue for farmers, the lack of precip has meant timely completion of many construction projects.
(as said:) “We were actually looking at completion in October. They still have work to do up there. But with it being open to traffic the majority of the work will be away from traffic or it may require just a short lane closure. That project actually started end of March so we knew would take most of the construction season. Certainly with the weather we’ve had this year — the drier whether — they were able to keep to a schedule and make good progress on the project.”
Schultz says this brings to a close the work on Highway 18 in O’Brien County for a while.
(as said:) “We’ve had some resurfacing up there. We’ve done bridge deck repairs and rehabs up in that area and we’re going to give those folks on 18 a little break for a while. Probably the next work you would see in that area would be on the east side of Spencer. We don’t have anything in the five-year program at this time for US 18.”
And that’s good news for those who need to use Highway 18.
