Coralville's 5th Street Reconstruction Improves Sense of Place

After the 2008 flood, the City of Coralville, Iowa, underwent a citywide recovery process during which HR Green played a key role in developing a flood mitigation master plan and accompanying infrastructure design program. To preserve an important transportation corridor while achieving flood mitigation goals, the 5th Street roadway was raised nearly eight feet on an impervious embankment allowing Biscuit Creek to flow freely below and floodwaters to back up without impacting development or community connectivity.

Before design began on the project, the City passed a new stormwater quality ordinance. HR Green incorporated green stormwater design approaches into the 5th Street reconstruction project. The existing stormwater collection system was retrofitted to address water quality through the addition of stormwater planters upstream of the intakes and granular storage/infiltration trenches along the corridor.

The 5th Street Reconstruction Project included partial reconstruction of 5th Street from 2nd to 3rd Avenue and complete reconstruction from 3rd to 4th Avenue. The $1.95 million improvement project elevated approximately ½ mile of 5th Street to protect a critical transportation link and complete the line of flood protection measures constructed north of Clear Creek between Highway 6 and 1st Avenue.

Many sustainable means and methods were incorporated into the design of this project. Multi-modal accommodations were made throughout the corridor. These included direct pedestrian and bicycle access to a major multi-use trail along Biscuit Creek and bicycle designations in the roadway itself. New, widened sidewalks were also included as part of the project to provide greater access to a wide range of pedestrian capabilities.

The 5th Street Reconstruction Project fulfills several other needs and goals for the City. The incorporation of sustainable measures such as stormwater quality management improved pedestrian and bicycle access along the corridor, and the introduction of aesthetic amenities all proclaim that this is more than just a transportation corridor. The project interacts with an adjacent park, the surrounding buildings and their uses, and the new developments creating a sense that this corridor is a “place to be”.