Collins Road carries 25,000 – 30,000 vehicles a day and is the city’s busiest corridor.
A 2018-2019 project supports the goal of adding significant capacity improvements to relieve congestion and make it easier for people to get in and out of both the Lindale Mall and Collins Crossing shopping centers. The addition of sidewalks will also provide much-needed safety improvements for pedestrians.
PROJECT DETAILS:
Area: Collins Road NE, from just east of Northland Avenue to Twixt Town Road
Years of Construction: Spring 2018 – 2019
Construction cost: $7.4 million, City-funded portion of the project is 24%
Improvements:
- Additional travel lanes on Collins Road
- Additional turn lanes at the Lindale Mall / Collins Crossing intersections
- New sidewalk on both sides of Collins Road
- New traffic signals with pedestrian indications/push buttons
- Stormwater management treatment
- Frontage road north of Collins Road will be removed to accommodate the additional travel lanes on Collins Road
Summary of 2019 Work
While last year focused primarily on the underground utilities, traffic signals, and removing the frontage road, this year will see the bulk of the pavement work take place on Collins Road, as the City adds an additional eastbound travel lane and a left turn lane at the Collins Crossing exit. Collins Road will remain open during the construction project, but lane reductions will be in effect during the course of the summer. Business access will remain open at all times. The project will be completed this fall.
Future Initiative
Planning is still underway to add capacity improvements on Collins Road, from Northland Avenue to Center Point Road.
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Project Updates
October 29, 2019
Travel lanes have been open with minimal reductions since late August, and the project is substantially complete. The contractor will be completing final cleanup items in the weeks ahead.
Tree plantings in the median are tentatively scheduled for next week, which will include temporary lane reductions
August 30, 2019
Construction work is nearing completion on the Collins Road project.
Crews continue to place pavement markings and median landscaping, which will wrap up within the next week. All travel lanes on Collins Road are open, but intermittent lane closures may take place next week during sod placement and pavement marking/painting.
We appreciate your patience while we finish up this project!
August 9, 2019
Construction work on the median between Collins Crossing and Twixt Town Road continues over the next few weeks, along with curb ramp placement and new pavement markings at the Collins Crossing and Lindale Mall entrances.
The shopping center entrance/exit lanes are now fully open; only intermittent closures are anticipated while crews paint lane lines, place curb ramps, and place sod.
July 30, 2019
Collins Road construction continues to progress. Crews have made significant progress on the pavement and median work. Traffic flow is currently open two lanes each direction on Collins Road, in addition to a right turn lane to access the north Collins Crossing shopping center. This week, traffic traveling eastbound will shift to allow pavement and median work to continue elsewhere. Two lanes both directions will remain open.
Shopping Entrances
Lane restrictions remain in place at the shopping entrances at Collins Crossing / Lindale Mall. The lanes will shift this week as crews apply new pavement markings. We anticipate restoring all lanes at the shopping entrances by early August. When fully open, the shopping entrances will include two lanes in, two lanes out, and one turn lane onto Collins Road.
The Twixt Town Road entrance is fully open.
Sometime late August, lane restrictions will be in place at both the Collin Crossing entrance, and the Twixt Town Road entrance, to allow crews to place sod. We will continue to keep you posted on that timeline.
Collins Road is on schedule to reopen fully mid-to-late September. As always, we appreciate your patience!
July 12, 2019
Collins Road reconstruction work continues to progress on schedule. Numerous sections of pavement continue to be placed, and crews will be transitioning to installing new medians soon.
Lanes will shift at the north and south entrances at Collins Crossing and the Lindale Mall entrance later next week. There will still be one lane in and one lane out each direction.
June 14, 2019
Construction work on Collins Road continues to progress on schedule. Crews are working on storm sewer, medians, and preparations for new pavement.
Twixt Town Intersection
Starting mid-next week, the south side of the Collins Road and Twixt Town Road intersection (toward Lindale Mall) will close for approximately 2 - 3 weeks, for reconstruction. During this time there will continue to be only one eastbound travel lane on Collins at this intersection. The north side of the intersection (toward Michael’s in Collins Square) remains open.
Please continue to use the various other access points on both Collins Road and 1st Avenue to access area businesses during this time.
Collins Road Right Lane Closure
On Monday, June 17, Alliant Energy will be setting utility poles along the north side of Collins Road between Twixt Town Road and the Collins Crossing shopping entrance. This work will require a right lane closure for only one day.
June 5, 2019
Pavement work continues to move forward as planned. You can expect the eastbound travel lanes on Collins Road to shift as we move motorists onto the new pavement; this will allow our crews to work on additional sections of the road. We anticipate one eastbound travel lane will remain closed.
The left-turn restriction that is currently in place at the Collins Crossing shopping entrance will be lifted starting this Friday; this will mean no turning restrictions starting on Friday. There are currently no turning restrictions at the Twixt Town Road / Collins Road intersection.
Two westbound travel lanes on Collins Road also remain open at this time.
May 24, 2019
The contractor continues to place new pavement in several areas on Collins Road. Lane reductions are still in effect for both eastbound and westbound traffic.
Starting the week of May 27
Left-hand turn restrictions will be in place at Collins Crossing (right-in/right-out only) starting next week. This work will not occur until after the Memorial Day holiday weekend, and will last approximately two weeks.
Update on Twixt Town Entrance
The eastbound left turn restriction at Twixt Town Road has opened today; there are currently no restrictions at the Twixt Town entrance.
All the pavement work is moving forward as anticipated. We will add additional signage to help direct eastbound traffic toward Northland Avenue in order to use the Blairs Ferry/Lindale Drive shopping entrance to access the Collins Crossing Shopping Area.
May 16, 2019
The contractor is placing new pavement in several areas on Collins Road. While work is underway, temporary lane reductions will be in effect for both eastbound and westbound traffic while crews are placing material, to ensure a safe work zone. These will be “rolling” lane reductions, and will close and open as crews complete each area.
Starting the week of May 27
The entrance/exit lanes at Collins Crossing shopping center are currently open. Starting the week of May 27, left-hand turn restrictions will be in place at Collins Crossing (right-in/right-out only). This work will not occur until after the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
Update on Twixt Town Entrance
Traffic traveling eastbound on Collins Road is currently restricted from turning left (north) at Twixt Town Road. This is the only turn restriction currently in place at this intersection. Those traveling westbound on Collins Road can still turn right at Twixt Town Rd, or left into the Lindale Mall area. During this time, alternate routes include the Marion Blvd/Twixt Town Road intersection, or the Blairs Ferry/Lindale Drive intersection. The eastbound left turn lane is anticipated to be open before the Memorial Day holiday weekend, weather pending.
All the pavement work is moving forward as anticipated. Later this summer when the new pavement is installed, new medians will be re-installed to separate eastbound and westbound travel lanes.
April 25, 2019
Lane reductions are in effect for both westbound and eastbound traffic between Twixt Town Road and Northland Avenue. Traffic is currently reduced to one lane in/one lane out in both directions at the Lindale Mall/Collins Crossing shopping entrances. These restrictions will be in place for approximately the next 6 – 8 weeks, depending on weather.
Starting on Monday, April 29, and lasting approximately 8 – 10 days, the Twixt Town Road intersection will be right-in/right-out only for traffic exiting or entering at this location. Traffic traveling eastbound on Collins Road will not be able to turn left onto Twixt Town Road. Traffic traveling westbound on Collins Road between 1st Avenue and Twixt Town will not be able to turn left at Twixt Town. Traffic will be right-out only for those exiting Twixt Town from either the north or the south. Business access remains open; alternate access includes the Marion Blvd/Twixt Town Road intersection.
April 22, 2019
Traffic control has shifted on the Collins Road project. Westbound traffic will now use the new pavement between Twixt Town Road and Lindale Drive.
Below is a summary of the new traffic pattern:
- Two westbound travel lanes between 1st Avenue and Twixt Town Rd.
- Two travel lanes between Twixt Town Rd and the Lindale Mall/Collins Crossing entrance (a left-turn lane, and a straight/right-turn lane)
- Two lanes remain open for eastbound traffic.
This traffic pattern will continue throughout the next month.
Shopping Center Entrances
Work will also take place at both the north and south shopping entrances at Lindale Mall/Collins Crossing.
Starting Wednesday, April 24: Traffic will be reduced to one lane in and one lane out for both directions. These restrictions will be in place for approximately the next 6 - 8 weeks (depending on weather).
April 16, 2019
Crews continue to place new pavement on Collins Road, between Twixt Town and Collins Crossing, as well as at the west end of the project to connect to existing pavement.
The contractor is also placing sod and sidewalk in several areas along the north side of Collins Road.
Westbound traffic will shift onto the new pavement possibly next week, weather depending, so that construction can continue in other locations.
April 9, 2019
Construction work continues to progress on Collins Rd. Contractors have begun putting down new pavement on the westbound travel lanes between Twixt Town Rd and the Collins Crossing entrance, and continuing west. Work also continues on new sidewalks and curbs.
All travel lanes are now restored at the Twixt Town Road entrance/exit.
Future Work: Westbound traffic will shift onto the new pavement while the construction activity moves to the center of Collins Road.
The project is moving forward as anticipated.
April 4, 2019
Construction continues to move forward on Collins Rd. The current phase includes a westbound lane reduction between Twixt Town Road and Northland Avenue while new pavement is placed on Collins Road and at the Twixt Town Rd intersection. While lane restrictions will be in effect the next few weeks, the Twixt Town entrance remains open to both inbound and outbound traffic.
Also starting this week, contractors will be placing segments of sidewalks on both sides of Collins Road, where none existed previously.
This year includes a lot of pavement work, which will require several different traffic control stages in order to be completed. We will continue to send out updates and public notification on what you can anticipate. As always, we will work to ensure businesses are accessible during each stage of the project.
March 29, 2019
Starting Monday, April 1, one westbound travel lane on Collins Road will be closed between Twixt Town Road and Northland Avenue.
Starting on Tuesday, April 2, the Twixt Town Road entrance at Collins Road will have one lane open in each direction. Motorists will be able to both enter and exit the shopping center via Twixt Town Road. There was previously a southbound lane closure.
March 22, 2019
Construction is tentatively scheduled to resume on the Collins Road project on Monday, March 25. For the first several weeks, work will take place primarily at the Twixt Town Road entrance. Motorists will be able to use Twixt Town Road to enter the shopping center off Collins Road (heading north), but Twixt Town Road will be closed to southbound traffic exiting the shopping center heading back to Collins Road. One westbound lane on Collins Road will also be closed at the Twixt Town entrance starting on Monday. Collins Road will remain open during the construction project, but lane reductions will be in effect during the course of the summer. Business access will remain open at all times.
While last year focused primarily on the underground utilities, traffic signals, and removing the frontage road, this year will see the bulk of the pavement work take place on Collins Road, as the City adds an additional eastbound travel lane and a left turn lane at the Collins Crossing exit. The full project stretches from just east of Northland Avenue to Twixt Town Road, and began in 2018. The project will be completed this construction season.
