The Gilbert Street bridge replacement project will officially begin on April 1.

The project will be split into several phases, according to a release from the City of Iowa City. The first phase begins on April 1 and will last until April 8.

On Oct. 3, 2023, the city council awarded the bid for the project to the Boomerang Corporation, which is based out of Anamosa, Iowa, about 50 minutes northeast of Iowa City. The bid for this project was over $3.7 million.

This project qualified for federal funding through the Iowa Department of Transportation’s City Bridge Program. This means the project is eligible for up to 80 percent reimbursement for the project, with an upward limit of $1 million.

This phase will close at the intersection of Court Street and Gilbert Street, but the actual Gilbert Street bridge will remain open during this time. The bridge crosses Ralston Creek, which runs about a block southeast of the Graduate Iowa City hotel.

On April 8, the second phase of the project will begin, the release states. During this phase, Court Street will reopen, and the Gilbert Street bridge will close and remain closed until the end of the project.

The second phase of the project is slated to be completed around late May and will consist of the removal of the entire bridge, according to the city’s website. The bridge will be reconstructed in the third phase, expected to last from late May to late September. Finally, the fourth phase will finish up the project and clean up the site, which will be completed in late fall 2024.

Throughout the project, several transit routes will be impacted, including the South Iowa City, Downtown Shuttle, and Lower Muscatine bus routes, according to a release from the city.

The project will completely remove and replace the Gilbert Street Bridge as well as improve nearby sidewalks, streambanks, storm sewers, and water mains, the city’s website states. The Gilbert Street Bridge was originally built in 1972.

RELATED: Gilbert Street to close for four months for bridge construction

The need for this project was determined after a 2019 inspection found the bridge to be structurally deficient, the city’s website states. This inspection identified several issues with the bridge, including cracks on the bridge’s surface, erosion near the streambank, and a lack of a barrier rail between the pedestrian walkway and vehicles.

This project was originally supposed to start in 2023, but the city received no bids from any companies to do the project, so it was pushed to a 2024 start date, according to the city’s website.