After a decade in the making and a $1 million incentive from the county, the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) project to build a new interchange at Highway 218 and County Road G36 will begin Monday.
      Washington County Engineer David Patterson reports G36 at the Highway 218 intersection will be closed all year until the $4.2 million project is complete. He expects work on the new diamond-type interchange to be completed in November. He recommends residents who use the intersection detour to Highway 92 beginning Monday.
      "Residents should definitely avoid the gravel roads," Patterson said. "Our gravel roads are in really poor condition and we need to keep people on the paved roads as much as possible."
      He said a detour map and a press release on the project are available on the Washington County Engineer's Web site at . He also said the parking areas along G36 will be closed.
      For Washington County Supervisor Larry DeLong, the project is a long time coming. He said county officials began discussions with DOT about reconstructing the intersection in 1997. At the time, the intersection was low on the DOT list of projects. DeLong said when the county offered to give $1 million in county road funds to the project, DOT moved the project up on the list.