More accidents happening on Hwy. 58 due to construction, Cedar Falls police say

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (KGAN) — Police in Cedar Falls say there's been several accidents on Hwy. 58, some causing people to get hurt, as drivers continue to get into rear-end collisions at high speeds.

Dustin Mentel, of Cedar Falls and who drives on the road daily, said accidents on the highway are no surprise. He said his co-worker was involved in a crash not too long ago.

"If you're in a hurry and you're not paying attention, you're probably going to get smacked," Mentel said. "Just make sure you guys are looking both ways, three or four times never hurts."

With people going fast through a hilly area, they can run into traffic, Cedar Falls Police Chief Mark Howard said.

"Traffic does back up the stoplight at Ridgeway and 58, [it] is set to a point where traffic tends to back up, and at busy times in the day, we see traffic backed up quite a ways," Chief Howard said.

When drivers get into accidents there, it can use up lots of resources as cops direct traffic and help those in the crash, Howard said. That traffic can make it harder for emergency crews to get to the area.

"The last couple were multi-vehicle which even creates more of a hazard, so they can be a lot, you know, it's a it's a highway, so it's going to be at a high rate of speed," Howard said.

Ultimately, Howard said drivers should keep their focus in busy areas or just take another route.

There are multiple different routes you can take depending on where you're going, including Hudson Rd., which runs parallel to the highway.

The Iowa Department of Transportation said construction will move over to the north side of Hwy. 58 in mid-July, and work will wrap up by November.

"Just slow down, be safe, pay attention, understand the construction, understand that traffic's gonna be backed up if you're going south on 58," Howard said.