McGregor Main Street project won’t start this year due to delays in SHPO approval
By Audrey Posten, Times-Register
The first phase of McGregor’s extensive Main Street reconstruction project will not begin this year as anticipated due to delays in approval from the Iowa State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO).
McGregor Mayor Lyle Troester, speaking at last week’s city council meeting, called the situation tough.
“It’s been very frustrating. We get our hopes up and get them dashed,” he said. “All the processes for three years, all the finance work, engineering work, historical work, signage work, public meetings and countless hours—it all boils down to everything’s a go except this.”
The $10.5 million project includes construction of a new Front Street lift station and corresponding force main, followed by water, sanitary sewer and storm sewer utility upgrades and full reconstruction of Main Street. Work, which was spurred by an Iowa Department of Natural Resources administrative order, will address excessive inflow and infiltration to McGregor’s over-100-year-old sanitary sewer system.
Main Street from River Street to B Street, through McGregor’s downtown, was originally slated to be completed this construction season, by Nov. 15. Phase II construction, from B Street past St. Mary’s Catholic Church to Buell Avenue, was set to start in spring 2023 and wrap up in November of that year.
According to city administrator Lynette McManus, McGregor started the environmental review process for the project in early 2020. As a recipient of federal funds—an Iowa Clean Water State Revolving Loan fund through which the city also qualified for $1 million in principle forgiveness—clearances are necessary and required prior to construction. Failure to do so could result in loss of the SRF funding.
The city’s historical and archaeological consultant completed a Phase 1A archaeological survey report and a historical and architectural reconnaissance report to submit to required agencies. From 2020 until January 2022, McManus said the city had no direct contact with SHPO and assumed everything was under review.
SHPO finally provided initial comments regarding the project in January, and since then, the city has corresponded with the SRF environmental specialist and SHPO to answer questions by the agencies regarding the project and to address SHPO comments regarding the programmatic agreement being drafted. This legal agreement outlines what the city has done to identify potential effects on archeological and/or historical sites and mitigation techniques to lessen the risk of potential impacts.
“From what the city has been told, the reason for the long delay seems to be a combination of the COVID-19 pandemic/government shutdowns, changes in the review process mid-submittal (due to the pandemic) and a lack of communication between agencies,” McManus explained.
McGregor is still working on its Section 106 clearance, a review process that is part of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966.
“Unfortunately, delays on the review agency side of clearances have resulted in delays which will no longer allow the project to start this month as planned and the project start date will be moved to spring of 2023,” said McManus. “There is some additional information the city’s historical and archeological consultant is working on to suffice the requests of SHPO. Because of the SHPO review process timeline and additional requirements of SHPO, it was stated by the agency that the execution of the agreement and obtaining the Section 106 clearance is most likely months away.”
Discussions with the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT), who holds the project contract, and contractor Portzen Construction determined starting the project in mid- to late-summer would not be feasible for completion of Phase 1 prior to Nov. 15. McManus said a contract modification is currently being drafted to update the start and completion dates outlined in the contract.
The other option was to re-bid the project, which McManus said could be disastrous. At the bidding in January, the next closest total was over $1 million more than Portzen Construction’s bid.
To date, the Main Street project plans and specifications have been approved by the DOT and DNR, and all other environmental clearances from the county, state and Army Corps of Engineers have been obtained. The city said the delay will not affect funding, which is being fully covered by the SRF loan and the DOT.
“The city is preparing for an early spring 2023 start date for Main Street. I do not feel there is a danger of clearance being held up into the spring of next year,” McManus stated.
She is hopeful work on the lift station can still start this year, as it is located outside the Main Street/IA-76 right-of-way.
“Doing additional investigation prior to construction also lessens the chance that an artifact might be discovered during excavation, which would further slow down the process,” McManus added. “We do live in a special area of the state, rich in history. Although it’s very discouraging to not get started yet, the city understands the importance of taking every possible precaution to protect our historic assets, both architectural and archeological.”
A letter briefly explaining the cause of the delay will go out to properties within either year of the project later this week. In it, property owners are encouraged to contact plumbers to assess their properties for any plumbing upgrades in advance of the project and also to return temporary construction easements and contact info.
“All we can do now is continue to plan and prepare so that, when 2023 arrives, we are ready to begin the project and look forward to the final outcome,” McManus stressed.
She additionally noted that activities at Triangle Park can resume this summer and fall, although organizers of the fall arts and crafts festivals have elected to keep their event at Turner Park. Another bright spot is that, without construction to contend with, work on the downtown Masonic Block building can be more easily completed.
