MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa — Crews moved onto Center Street Monday to begin removing pavement to replace pipes and utilities underground. Some water pipes have been in service over 110 years.

“Part of the downtown work is really stemmed from we had a tornado in 2018, ” said Heather Thomas, Marshalltown Public Works Director. “It was pretty devastating to our community but at that same time our downtown was getting to the point needing infrastructural replacement, we have a water main under the street that’s 110 plus years old and so it was at that time that it was needing replaced.”

The project will cost around 8-9 million dollars and will take place in three segments. First two blocks on Center Street, and then in August, three blocks of Main Street. The Marshalltown Chamber of Commerce is working to help businesses keep customers coming into stores.

“I’ve had the good fortune of going through this a couple of different times and we were able to bring in some great experts from nearby communities who talked about a lot of those strategies,” said John Hall, CEO of the Marshalltown Chamber of Commerce. “Positivity, being one of the number one messages they carried, and not only from those that are outside the project, but also from our businesses that are being impacted by the project.”

The project will build a streetscape adjacent to a public plaza planned for the north side of the Marshall County Courthouse.

The street project will be completed in 2026.