Highway 63 By-Pass Clears Environmental Study
Potential US 63 bypass of Oskaloosa. (file photo)
Oskaloosa, Iowa – The Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) are proposing to construct a two lane bypass north and west of the City of Oskaloosa in Mahaska County, Iowa. The proposed improvements include the construction or replacement of highway travel lanes, bridges, local roadways, intersections and an interchange. The proposed action will connect to U.S. 63 north of the corporate limits of Oskaloosa and to a new interchange at IA 163 west of Oskaloosa.
In general, the study area is approximately 1 to 1.5 miles wide connecting U.S. 63 diagonally northeast to southwest with IA 163. The northern boundary of the study area is located about 1,300 feet north of 193rd Street & U.S 63 and is approximately 1,500 feet wide. The eastern boundary of the study area follows U.S. 63 from north of 193rd Street to 210th Street. Then the eastern boundary of the study area crosses farmland diagonally to 230th Street before heading south and ending about 1,500 feet south of Old Hwy 163. From this southern boundary the study area crosses IA 163 where IA 163’s alignment becomes north-south. The southern boundary follows due west about 1.25 miles to the western edge. The western boundary in general crosses farmland diagonally from about 200th Street to 210th Street and then heads south to 228th Street where it generally ties into IA 163 approximately 2.5 miles west of the Oskaloosa corporate limits.
In 2009, the East Central Iowa Transportation Coalition (Coalition) was formed as a coordinating entity between counties, cities, private agencies, and the Iowa DOT. The Coalition’s purpose was to identify and put into action transportation goals that would promote a safe and dependable transportation system that also stimulates growth. One of the Coalition’s objectives is to make available a north-south corridor, which could include U.S. 63, to greatly improve regional and local travel.
US-63 approved Oskaloosa Northwest bypass. (click for larger image)
The Coalition had Snyder & Associates, Inc. (Snyder) complete a Phase I Needs Assessment (2009) to assess the need for further and more detailed studies along U.S. 63 and Iowa 146 between Interstate 80 (I-80) and Oskaloosa.
The Coalition found that U.S. 63 needed to be reprogrammed for reconstruction and recommended an additional transportation study be completed to identify potential solutions to the previously identified problems.
Following the assessment study completed in 2009 the Coalition kicked off the U.S. 63 Area Transportation Study later in 2009 and was completed in 2011. The end goal of the U.S. 63 Area Transportation Study was to recommend which specific transportation improvements in their project area to further develop, identify possible environmental constraints, and to outline a path for local and state agencies to follow in order to improve the East Central Iowa transportation system, which included the U.S. 63 corridor.
Improvements of U.S. 63 from Oskaloosa to I-80 were found to most adequately address the three outlined transportation needs. It was recommended that additional studies be conducted to determine preferred U.S. 63 corridor alternatives before any improvements would be constructed.
In July of 2013 the Coalition completed a U.S. Highway 63 Corridor Location Study. This study was conducted to document an initial route alternative analysis for the U.S. 63 corridor. Various alternatives were compared and ranked based on how they met a developed purpose and need. The alternative that received the number one priority status was the U.S. Highway 63 Oskaloosa NW Bypass for which this Environmental Assessment (EA) is being written. The corridor study showed U.S. 63 crash rates within the City of Oskaloosa were 20 percent higher than the statewide average for urban areas. Additionally, the Oskaloosa to New Sharon segment of U.S. 63 had crash rates from 2007-2011 that were also higher than the statewide average for rural segments.
Three public information meetings have occurred for this project. The first public meeting was held on August 15, 2013 at the Oskaloosa Middle School to discuss the U.S. 63 bypass study area. The second public meeting was held on April 16, 2014 to describe a range of alternatives being considered for the project. The third public meeting was held on December 16, 2014; further detail to the alternatives being considered was given at that time.
The purpose of the proposed action is to provide safe and efficient travel for through-truck and vehicle traffic currently passing through the Oskaloosa corporate limits on U.S. 63, which is a part of Iowa’s commercial and industrial network (CIN)1. This bypass route around Oskaloosa will improve safety and traffic operations of U.S. 63 between its existing interchange with IA 163 south of Oskaloosa and the existing alignment of U.S. 63 north of Oskaloosa.
In order for the project to move forward from this point, the Iowa Department of Transportation must include it in it’s five year plan.
The Iowa DOT is soliciting comments on the document during the comment period which ends December 4, 2017. To be considered in the decision document, please email or postmark your comments by that date and send them to:
Tamara Nicholson
Iowa DOT – Office of Location and Environment
800 Lincoln Way
Ames, IA 50010
The EA may be viewed on the Iowa DOT’s website at this link: https://iowadot.gov/ole/nepa-compliance/nepa-documents/u-s-63-northwest-oskaloosa-bypass
