Those planning to travel on Iowa 1/Iowa 78 in Washington County may have a slower trip when construction begins on Monday, April 3. The road work is expected to continue until late October of this year.

Construction will be done in two stages, with stage 1 beginning on Monday. The work will require closing of the roadway to drivers from east of the Keokuk County line to the entrance of Lake Darling. Stage 1 is expected to continue until early July.

Stage 2 will require closing the roadway to drivers from the entrance of Lake Darling to the west side of Brighton. This work will begin following the completion of stage 1, and continue until late October.

While the roadway is closed, drivers are expected to use marked detour routes on Iowa 1, Iowa 92, county roads W-38 and G-38, Keokuk County Road W-15, and Oak Street through Richland. Traveler information during construction will be available at 511ia.org, or by calling 511. For a map of the project and detour routes, click here.