SHELDON — Orange cones and construction signs have become a common sight around Sheldon this spring and summer — and drivers can expect to see them a bit longer as local road, sidewalk, and infrastructure upgrades continue to move forward.

Some smaller projects have wrapped up quickly. A patching project on McKinley Avenue from Highway 18 north to 280th Street started last Wednesday and wrapped up by Friday afternoon, reopening both lanes to traffic.

East Second Street between 23rd and 24th avenues, right in front of Bliss Salon & Spa, is also open again after a month-long closure for patching work. However, a portion of 24th Avenue’s left lane will stay blocked temporarily as finishing touches are completed.

“That project is done. The roads are open,” public works director Todd Uhl told the city council during its July 2 meeting. “What is left is final grading and seeding. They should be buttoning that up.”

Meanwhile, the Iowa Department of Transportation’s larger upgrades on Highway 18 are still underway. Sidewalks, entryways, and shoulders along the highway are being rebuilt to meet ADA standards — requiring sidewalks at least 3 feet wide with passing spaces every 200 feet when narrower than 5 feet.

This work, which began on Sheldon’s west side in April, has rebuilt several intersections on Highway 18/Park Street and added a right turn lane at Crossroads Drive, improving access to local businesses like Ziegler CAT, Bomgaars, and White Wolf Web.

As of this week, DOT crews were working between Seventh and Washington avenues and will continue moving west. Drivers will see lane reductions on Highway 18 while crews complete the upgrades.

Another major project is the rebuild of Western Avenue. That work began in April and is still in progress.

“It’s chugging along. It’s received multiple delays,” Uhl said. “They’re finally making some good progress. They’re just about done with all of the underground work in the first phase.”

The first phase covered Western Avenue’s southern stretch along 330th Street up past Rome Grinding Solutions. Work has now shifted to the middle phase, near West 10th Street.

“At the same time, they will be paving the southern phase as they’re tearing out and working in the middle phase,” Uhl said. “Fewer people are affected but some are affected more. It’s a little harder to get to their addresses.”

The final stretch of Western Avenue — from 10th Street to Highway 18/Park Street — is expected to start in August, with temporary access roads in place to help residents reach homes and businesses during construction.

Beyond the roads, Sheldon’s iconic water tower at Ninth Avenue and 12th Street is also getting a facelift. Crews are sandblasting, cleaning, and repainting the tower in the community’s orange-and-black color scheme — similar to the new tower on Nest Avenue.

Uhl noted the tower project has been slow.

“Not because the contractor doesn’t want to work but because wind and humidity and those types of things haven’t allowed them to work,” he said. “There’s some pretty tight parameters on when they can blast that metal to steel and get it recoated in the right amount of time before you start to get some flash rusting.”

Recent weather has helped move that work along. “If you look at it, they are starting to make some decent progress,” Uhl said.

Sheldon is also seeing financial recovery from last year’s Floyd River flooding. FEMA has so far provided more than $200,000 in disaster relief, with another $200,000–$250,000 expected.

However, Uhl said the city’s request for FEMA help to relocate the flood-damaged North Fifth Avenue lift station to higher ground was denied.

“We tried our darnedest,” Uhl said. “Staff is currently evaluating every option we can before we bring a project back to you guys to consider. There are internal debates on what level of protection do we need? We will probably be bringing the council a couple of different options to consider and let the mayor and council break the ties.”
City leaders remind residents to drive carefully in work zones, watch for changing lane patterns, and be patient as crews finish these much-needed improvements. Once done, the road repairs, safer sidewalks, new turn lanes, and upgraded infrastructure aim to help Sheldon stay strong, accessible, and better prepared for future growth.

The city will announce updates and detour information on its website and social media channels. Residents with questions can reach out to the Sheldon Public Works Department for project details or timelines.

Originally reported by Justin Rust in NWestiowa.