A long-planned highway extension in Cedar Rapids is nearing completion of its first phase. Development officials say the project will eventually lead to massive growth on the city’s west side.
By mid-December, a four-mile stretch of Highway 100 between Edgewood and Covington roads should be open to traffic. The four-lane divided highway includes a bridge over the Cedar River. The Director of Community Development in Cedar Rapids, Jennifer Pratt, says the bypass will ease traffic congestion in the city and open up a huge swath of land for development.
“The western edge has been identified as a growth area for many years," she says. "Highway 100 really becomes the backbone of the infrastructure needed to accelerate development.”
Pratt says the bypass around the city has been a long time coming, but that has allowed officials to think about what they want to do with the western part of the city.
“Because this project has been a long time in planning, one of the benefits is it has allowed us time to look at land uses in the area and to really look at the best way to maximize development,” she says.
A second phase of the project will connect Highway 100 with U.S. Highway 30 in the southwest corner of Cedar Rapids. Completion of that four-mile stretch is expected in 2019.