More Than 1,300 Days Later, E 53rd St Is Fully Open In Davenport

It has been more than 1,300 days since the start of the reconstruction and design of E 53rd St in Davenport, Iowa. The project took so long that the world went through a pandemic, there have been two different U.S. Presidents, the Queen died, and a new King was crowned.

While that sounds like a lot of stuff all while one road was being worked on, it is cool to see a road that so badly needed this upgrade finally get completed. While we wish it took less time to get these road construction projects done, it's so much better knowing the time was taken to get the job done right.

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E 53rd St In Davenport Is Fully Open

Whether you call it an early Christmas present or a Christmas miracle, the time has finally come. E 53rd St, heck, all of 53rd St. in Davenport is open. And by open, I mean it's open and all lanes are in use.

In a social media post on Wednesday, the Davenport Public Works Department announced the great news. For the past 4 years, engineers, contractors, and crews have redesigned and reconstructed 2 travel miles and 10 lanes miles of road all on E 53rd St. between Brady St. and Elmore Circle.

The project was a $16.2 million investment in infrastructure that brought with it 2 miles of new sidewalks, enhanced pedestrian crosswalks, and so much more.

Officials say that motorists should watch for spot daytime lane reductions over the next few weeks as finish work is completed.

More Than 1,300 Days of Road Work

How do we know it took more than 1,300 days to get this project done? We looked it up, duh.

This project began on April 13, 2020, and with the Davenport Public Works' social media post yesterday, that means this project took 1,339 days to complete. It all began with this announcement from the City on April 1, 2020 which definitely was not a joke:

E 53rd St will be reduced to one lane of travel in each direction between Brady and Eastern beginning the week of April 13th. The lane reductions are necessary for street reconstruction and widening, along with stormwater and utility improvements.

Businesses located along this stretch will be accessible for the duration of construction.

This project will start in the south/eastbound lanes and then flip to the north/westbound lanes as work progresses.

Work is estimated to be substantially complete in Dec 2020, pending weather and subsurface conditions. Please bear with us as we make these improvements.

Consider an alternate route as traffic delays are likely.

And now, 1,339 days or 3 years and 7 months later, it's great to report that the work has officially been completed.

Now, let's wrap up that Locust St. nonsense.