Iowa City’s long-running Court Street Reconstruction Project is now officially pushed into the 2026 construction season, as crews prepare the corridor for winter while several key components remain unfinished. Despite roadway paving concluding for the year, city officials said work is still underway to maintain traffic flow and keep residents moving through the area during the cold-weather months.
According to updates shared Monday, Muscatine Avenue is slated to reopen to two-way traffic sometime in December—weather permitting—along with the reopening of Seventh Avenue and the west leg of Court Street. That intersection will return as a T-intersection controlled by a stop sign, restoring a more typical traffic pattern for drivers.
The city said traffic signal work at Muscatine Avenue and Court Street will continue into January. Once the new signal is activated, Court Street is expected to fully reopen to traffic for the winter season. Even so, several critical pieces of pedestrian infrastructure will not be in place until next spring.
Most sidewalks along Court Street between Grant Street and Seventh Avenue will remain unbuilt until spring 2026, extending accessibility challenges in the corridor. City officials confirmed that temporary sidewalks and curb ramps will be constructed on Seventh Avenue to maintain accessible routes to nearby schools, transit stops, and neighborhood destinations. However, sidewalks between Muscatine Avenue and Seventh Avenue will continue to be closed, requiring pedestrians to use the Seventh Avenue and Center Avenue detour.
City engineers say private utility conflicts significantly disrupted the project timeline this year. Crews had originally planned to reconstruct Court Street all the way to Wales Street, but those conflicts forced the city to scale back 2025 work. Instead, paving and underground utility installation progressed only as far as Seventh Avenue. The remaining work, including roadway construction and additional utility coordination, will now be rescheduled for 2026.
Officials emphasized that completing the complex reconstruction safely required adjusting the project scope. The corridor includes significant underground utilities—water, sewer, stormwater, and private providers—that must be carefully relocated and updated before paving can move forward.
The city said the winter traffic plan aims to keep the corridor as functional as possible despite the delays. Drivers should anticipate periodic lane shifts, construction crews working on traffic signals, and temporary signage throughout December and January.
The winter season also presents challenges for maintenance, with reconstructed segments expected to be plowed and treated as usual, while unfinished areas will be monitored for safety.
As the project enters another year, city officials say they remain committed to delivering long-term improvements to traffic flow, safety, and multimodal access along Court Street—improvements that will ultimately reshape one of the city’s key east–west connections.
Originally reported by Natalie Reittinger in KWWL.
