DOT to replace two bridges on Highway 65 in Hampton

The Iowa Department of Transportation recently announced intentions to replace two bridges on a major Hampton road.
Pete Hjelmstad, Field Services Coordinator for the Iowa DOT District Two Office, said construction on two bridges on Highway 65 and Fourth Street NE through Hampton will begin in the spring of 2020. The bridges are located over Squaw Creek, less than a quarter mile north of Iowa Highway 3 and over Spring Creek near Harriman Park.
Traffic will be detoured to Olive Avenue from Iowa Highway 3 and C31. Hjelmstad said the detour is two miles.
Hjelmstad said construction is expected to run from early spring and into November.
Last Tuesday, the DOT held a public forum in which city and county officials, businesses and residents in the area and the public in general could ask questions. Hjelmstad said good and necessary conversations were had, ranging from why the project is necessary to ensuring people in the area will continue to have access to side streets.
Hjelmstad said both bridges will be fully replaced due to their age. The Squaw Creek bridge was constructed in 1934, and the one over Spring Creek was built in 1924, and reconstructed in 1961.
Read the full story in the February 7 edition.