MORRISON – Bridge replacement work that began this past May one mile west of Morrison on Iowa 175 is now mostly complete with the roadway reopening to traffic last Friday, Oct. 16, around 5 p.m.

“[B]oth lanes of the roadway are open,” Resident Construction Engineer Jenny Hoskins, PE, with the Iowa Dept. of Transportation told the newspaper in an email sent this past Monday. She also said there are still a few items of work yet to complete that will require “some traffic control.”

“There is some fence to install and seeding to complete both of which will require some vehicles on the shoulder in upcoming weeks.”

By Hoskins’ estimation, the project went well, she told the newspaper. The roadway closed on Tuesday, May 26, and was scheduled to reopen on Wednesday, Sept. 30, weather permitting, according to an early May press release from the Iowa DOT. The project end date was later revised to Friday, Oct. 16, at 5 p.m.

The project involved replacing the bridge over Munn’s Creek with a twin-box culvert. A marked detour was in place during construction using Iowa 14 and Grundy County roads D35 and T53.

The road closure forced RAGBRAI to improvise its planned route this past July between Grundy Center and Reinbeck, sending riders offroad and onto Grundy County Conservation’s mixed-use Pioneer Trail – a crushed limestone trail built atop an old railroad bed.

As RAGBRAI riders made their way into Morrison on Thursday, July 23, several told the newspaper they enjoyed the Pioneer Trail detour due to its change of pace and scenery.