Spring will be here soon, and along with the warm weather comes orange-breasted robins and orange road construction signs; it’s construction season once again.

Just to the west of campus, construction will continue on Hyland Avenue as soon as the frost has sufficiently left Ames.

“We are planning to start the reconstruction on March 31,” said Art Barton, Ames construction supervisor.

Barton said Hyland Avenue will switch from being a 31-foot wide tar-patched bumpy drive to a 45-foot wide, smooth, concrete street during the reconstruction.

In consideration of the Hyland Park residents, Barton said the reconstruction will take place in three stages.

“The first phase will begin where we left off last year,” Barton said. Last year, the city completed work from the Ontario Street intersection to the Clear Creek bridge, just north of the Pammel Drive intersection.

Stage one of this season’s work will be from Clear Creek to 250 Hyland Ave. Stage two will be from 250 Hyland Ave. to 142 Hyland Ave. Stage three will be positioned from 142 Hyland Ave. to Lincoln Way.

Barton said stages one and three are foreseen to be completed by June 15. “When stage one and three are open to traffic, stage two will be closed,” he said.

Stage two, Barton said, will be open to all traffic by August 22.

The City of Ames Engineering Division expects the project to be completed in early August if the weather is favorable.

“It should be done earlier, but the contractors have until August 22,” Barton said.

He said the reconstructions should not interfere with the Fall 1997 semester. “We should be finished when school begins in the fall,” he said.

Barton said he is working closely with the Hyland Avenue apartment owners in order to make the reconstruction relatively feasible for the residents.

“Parking is going to be the real problem,” he said.

Iowa State, Barton said, is doing its best to help out with the parking situation.

“They are planning on giving up some of the university parking,” he said.

Barton said pedestrian access at the construction zones will only be allowed at designated areas or around the ends of the closure. Vehicular traffic will not be permitted in the zones.

In addition, the Cy-Ride green route normally running on Hyland Avenue will be rerouted during the reconstruction. Barton said the buses will run on Sheldon Avenue, one block east.