WILLIAMSBURG — A request by the City of Williamsburg to remove traffic lights and install stop signs on the Interstate 80 ramps at Highway 149 led the Iowa Department of Transportation to redraw plans for a new bridge at that exit.
Plans presented to the Williamsburg City Council Monday show a shorter bridge with a reduction of lanes underneath on Highway 149, from two lanes in each direction to one northbound lane and one southbound lane with a turning lane in the middle.
Danielle Alvarez, with the Iowa DOT, said the traffic count conducted to see if a stop sign would be sufficient on the ramps showed a steady decline in traffic at the intersection. At 6,700 vehicles a day, not only could the city remove the traffic lights, the DOT could remove two lanes and make the bridge above shorter, reducing the cost of the project and of maintenance…