Pavement on Iowa Highway 17 from 12th Street Northwest in Eagle Grove to Iowa Highway 3 in Goldfield will be completely torn out and replaced, according to Little.

The estimated cost of the improvements is $5 million, Little reported.

The highway will be closed when construction begins.

The road, which runs north to south, will see a large increase in truck traffic when the incoming Prestage Foods of Iowa pork processing plant opens in November 2018.

Through traffic on Iowa Highway 17 will be detoured using Second Street Northeast in Eagle Grove and Wright County roads C54 and R33.

A public information meeting was held Sept. 20 in Eagle Grove to discuss the improvements.

The addition of the Prestage plant in Wright County sped up the process to improve that road, Little said.

“The Prestage plant that is being constructed south of Eagle Grove is going to increase truck traffic on that route,” Little said. “It’s already a heavily traveled truck corridor because of the grain elevator operations in Eagle Grove.”

“We have been looking at this corridor for a long time, but with the construction of the Prestage plant that really jumped it up in our priorities,” he added. “We want to get that in good shape before the plant opens for operation.”

Little said construction on the road will take between three and four months to complete.

“You can expect it to be most of the summer,” he said.

Little said additional road improvements will be made within Eagle Grove city limits prior to the plant opening.

“We are planning to also do work within Eagle Grove,” he said. “Basic patching to patch bad areas and diamond grind them so the roadway is smooth. That will all be done under traffic.”