COUNCIL BLUFFS, Ia. (KMTV) - Mayor Matt Walsh says West Broadway needs a revamping.
"It had no storm sewers, it one time was a highway with ditches in it and as the city grew, they filled the ditches in to make the street a little wider," Walsh said.
The West Broadway Reconstruction Project is aiming to make improvements like sidewalk replacement, street lighting and landscaping.
"Just the appearance makes it more attractive and attracts developers, so it will help increase the city's tax base," Walsh said.
The project has five phases with the final phase stretching from 19th Street to 15th Street. It's set to begin in April. Construction will be divided into several stages, traffic will be converted to one lane in each direction and will shift to the north side of the road.
"The bulk of the work, the street will be open to traffic in November," Public Works Director Matthew Cox said.
Cox acknowledges motorists will have to pay close attention to those construction zones, but those sacrifices will all be worth it.
"It's that front door to the community. Often people come from Omaha, they come through 480 and ultimately West Broadway. We want that to be attractive, we want to put our best face forward as we have visitors to the community and it shows off kind of what Council Bluffs is all about," Cox said.
The project costs approximately $35 million.
