The city promised to avoid major traffic tie ups as much as possible, but the refurbishing of the Wiley building is so big that it may not be possible to keep traffic restrictions down.
The city and members of Manske and Associates will be meeting Wednesday to discuss traffic issues surrounding the renovation project. City Manager John Deardoff told the city council Tuesday morning that they may need to rethink their policy of keeping traffic and parking spaces open around the building.
So far, only a small portion of 1st Street has been closed off because of heavy equipment, but Deardoff told the council that any further work may cause the area to be closed off for an extended period of time, simply in the interest of safety. Deardoff could not go into any specifics only to say they will be meeting to discuss the matter.
Work is under way by Manske and Associates to renovate the nearly 100-year-old building and turn it into apartments and an office complex.