Kirkwood Boulevard in Davenport has a different look this week. A contractor is working on micro-resurfacing from Brady Street to Grand Avenue. It involves covering the road with chip seal then a thin layer of asphalt, which the city says is cost effective and lasts seven to ten years.
The good news is that work will be finished up just in time for the Bix at 6 which starts next Thursday. But for the Bix-7 itself and other major events over the next few months, it's still going to be a lot of dealing with detours.
Most of these barricades are going to stay but some will go. Some projects will be finished or altered to help an influx of traffic in the area. River Drive is a big concern for downtown festivals. From the Bix-7, to Fourth of July festivities, to a popular event this weekend, the city says it will be handling each event differently.
The Mississippi River Motorcycle Rally this weekend is one of the first of many large events this summer. And it's a big test to see how large crowds will get around the area. "When they start patching roads you know it's time for events to start and barricades and detours. It took me forever to get here," said Glenn Rohm, rally coordinator.
Rohm says lane closures just down the road on Locust, and a major thoroughfare closed across town, may make it tough for the thousands of bikers who roll into town. He's hoping people go with the flow. "Detours here and there and sometimes people want to get in a hurry and typically when you get in a hurry that's when things start to happen," said Rohm.
Davenport Public Works Director Mike Clarke says the city works with event coordinators, the police department, and with contractors to mitigate construction zones whenever possible. "In some cases we can ask the contractor to maybe close for a day, we can redo the detours for a bit, we can widen lanes, we can shift things around," said Clarke.
Work on the Locust Street bridge will remain for this weekend, but hopefully be finished up come time for the Mississippi Valley Fair. For Ride the River, part of River Drive will be opened to bicyclists. However, for drivers, there's not much that will change during festivals like Red, White and Boom or the Bix-7.
"We do have a plan, but that plan mostly is to assist people with the detour rather that modify that detour because river drive is just out of play and it's not going to be back in time for the Bix," Clarke added, "That's going to be our biggest effort to help people get in and out of the area."
With the detour in place for a couple of weeks now for River Drive, the hope is that people will be familiar enough with that it will calm things down on busy weekends. The contractor continues to work on Saturdays. Mid- to-late July is when the current phase is expected to reopen to traffic.
