In September of 1964 the Chief Engineer for the Iowa State Highway Commission invited the public to attend an open hearing in the courtroom of the Clarke County Courthouse on the improvement and relocation of U.S. 34 in Clarke County.
An announcement from Ames came that in 1966 Highway 34 would be relocated through the East Lake City Park. The highway to be relocated north of its present location from the “west line of Section 16, Osceola Township, to a point just east of the C.B. & Q railroad, then along the present highway to a point near the center of Section 13 in the same township, then on relocation along the general alignment of the present road to a point near the junction of the Woodburn access road, then to the new section of Highway 34 being built in 1964. The length of the project about 10 miles.”
If the locations given by the commission are correct the highway to be moved “just north” of the present road from about the east edge of the KP Motel, through the present East lake Park, and then past the railroad underpass. It is understood a new underpass is included in the proposal.
The home of Don Ramsey may be endangered by the proposed route shift, as well as the park. Apparently the rest of the route would not interfere with any buildings.
Four lanes of Highway 34 were slated in 1966. The final plans of widening of Highway 34 from Kossuth Street east to Lucas County, Iowa line had not been completed until a public hearing on the Engineer’s decision. The plans called for a four lane highway from Kossuth Street in Osceola east to the city limits and 24 foot paving from there east of the railroad underpass two miles east that would be changed into an overhead crossing.
Persons wishing to be heard at the meeting to write the Iowa State Highway Commission in Ames to the attention of the public hearing engineer and advise the amount of time needed for their presentation.
(In June of 1952 Keith Davenport purchased a sixty acre tract of land five blocks east of Osceola and built the KP Motel, a five unit motel on the north side of Highway 34. The motel was used as training burning recently by the fire department)
(Don and Diane Ramsey’s home was the last house on the north side of Highway 34 on the east edge of Osceola.)