Feb. 21—OTTUMWA — The Ottumwa City Council unanimously approved the land purchases, swaps, and plans for the proposed Albia Road/Quincy Avenue roundabout during Tuesday’s meeting at Bridge View Center.

The final details now allow the city to release bids for the estimated $699,000 project, which will be due back to the city and then opened March 19. The Iowa Department of Transportation is funding $500,000 of the construction through a grant, with the city paying for the rest through sales tax and road use tax proceeds.

The roundabout will be the latest constructed in the city and be placed at the T-intersection located near Fareway on the south side of Ottumwa. Construction is scheduled to begin this spring and last a few months through the summer, and is not only anticipated to reduce the number of collisions, but also be safer for pedestrian traffic.

“It was awarded the Traffic Safety Improvement Program grant because of the high crash history at the intersection,” city engineer Phillip Burgmeier said. The grant for the project is the maximum allowed for a project.

The city did a property swap with a landowner on the northeast and southeast parts of the intersection, then completed low-dollar land purchases for easements. In all, six different parcels of property were either bought or swapped.

The one-lane roundabout will be 115 feet in diameter, or the size of the roundabout along the Wapello Street Extension and Albia Road intersection.

In other business:

— The council approved the environmental information document to start the process of acquiring funding for Phase 8, Division 3 of the combined sewer-separation project.

The Division 3 project is anticipated to cost about $13.3 million, and will separate storm and sanitary sewer in the area of Center Avenue, Jefferson Street, Grant Street and Morrell Drive. It also is not expected to affect user rates.

Phase 2 of the project is anticipated to start this spring behind Ottumwa High School along East Fourth Street.

“This is Phase 8 of 10 phases. Division 1 and 2 were pretty much done with local funds, but Division 3 is part of a plan that we developed three years ago,” said Randy Johnson, a civil engineer with Veenstra and Kimm, which the city has worked with on the project.

Burgmeier said after the council approved the environmental documents, they will later have to approve a State Revolving Fund loan application, and then plans and specification. In all, there will be two more public hearings.

Phase 8, also known as Blake’s Branch, encompasses about 1,600 acres of land, ranging from the Des Moines River to the industrial park. The city was hopeful to have the entire sewer separated by 2030, but 2035 may be closer to the timeframe.

— The council approved authority for the city to pre-levy property tax for three separate types of bonds: one for $6 million, and two others for $700,000 apiece over a two-year period. The $6 million bond would include multi-million dollar projects such as a levee closure for BNSF Railway and a new office and maintenance building in Ottumwa Cemetery. Also included are a recently-approved replacement firetruck, and over $800,000 in money for the city’s demolition program.

The two other bonding authorities would include fixes to Bridge View Center, as well as technological improvements for City Hall, specifically a new financial software program.

— Chad Drury can be reached at cdrury@ottumwacourier.com, and on Twitter @ChadDrury