Hwy 61 Coalition looking at reconfiguring Roosevelt Avenue

BURLINGTON – On Tuesday, the Greater Burlington Partnership, in collaboration with the Highway 61 Coalition, Des Moines County, the City of Burlington, and the City of West Burlington announced a collective partnership to develop, revitalize, and reconfigure the Roosevelt Corridor of Highway 61 through Burlington.
To achieve this effort, Grow Greater Burlington, the economic development division of the Greater Burlington Partnership, has hired the civil and structural engineering firm, Snyder & Associates, to guide the coalition with the mission of presenting a plan to Iowa’s Transportation Commission.

The Roosevelt Corridor serves as both a critical transportation route and a visual gateway to the Greater Burlington community. This initiative aims to enhance the ease of navigation for both residents and travelers, improve safety conditions, better support the area’s local businesses, and elevate the overall aesthetic of one of the community’s most traveled corridors.

“Roosevelt serves as the gateway to Greater Burlington,” said Taylor Collins, Executive Director of Economic Development for the Partnership. “Semi-trucks, school buses, employees and families travel the road every day; it should be safe, efficient, and appealing.”

“Much like the vision of the founders of the Highway 61 Coalition 20 years ago, we recognize that this effort is not one that will see immediate results,” says Des Moines County Supervisor Board Chair Jim Cary. “However, projects of this magnitude must start at some point, and now is the time to start working towards a corridor that promotes the efficient flow of traffic, while at the same time designing a corridor that is appealing to Des Moines County residents.”

“Roosevelt Avenue is unique – while many state highways bypass a community, that is simply not an option for Burlington,” says Burlington Mayor Jon Billups. “With a river to our east and the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant to our west, the City of Burlington is ready to work with our partners at the state to rebuild a corridor that works for everyone.”

The beginning of this process will consist of collecting public input as to what the community would like to see in a reimagined corridor. A public input form for citizens to submit their feedback has been posted on the Greater Burlington Partnership’s website.

In addition, on Monday, September 29th from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m, the public is encouraged to attend a public input session at the Greater Burlington Partnership to share feedback.

Following initial public input, Snyder & Associates will develop three different potential plans. A second community input session will then serve as an opportunity to gather feedback on the three potential plans. This second community input session is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, November 12th from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Partnership.

Following a second round of community input, a consensus plan will be presented to the Highway 61 Coalition for approval before being presented to the DOT commission.

Learn more at GreaterBurlington.com/RevitalizeRoosevelt.