News Releases

Cedar Rapids, Iowa— In an effort to help restore the University of Iowa following the floods in 2008, Miron Construction Co., Inc. recently began work on two of the University of Iowa’s flood recovery and mitigation projects at Mayflower Residence Hall and the Iowa Memorial Union (IMU). The Iowa City based firm of Rohrbach Associates PC is the Architect of Record on both projects.

“We are committed to restoring our community to make it better and stronger than it was before the floods,” said Jason Imhof, Miron’s vice president of Iowa operations. “We have many systems in place to help prevent damage if we experience this type of flooding again.”

The floodwaters in June 2008 left extensive damage to many buildings and homes throughout the state of Iowa. Floodwaters inundated the basement and sub-basement levels of Mayflower Residence Hall and rose approximately 30 inches above the first level of the building. Floodwaters also inundated the basement at IMU, with floodwater rising approximately 80 inches above the ground floor level.

Recovery work has been taking place since the floodwaters subsided. Miron’s work on the two projects consists of the following:

Mayflower Residence Hall
Miron is responsible for reconstruction of the convenience store, vending and lounge areas, located on the first level, to their pre-flood condition and making changes that conform to current codes and the University of Iowa’s Design Standards in place when the building flooded in 2008. Miron is also responsible for the construction of a new floodwall system consisting of a permanent concrete floodwall and removable floodwalls to protect Mayflower Residence Hall from future floods. Construction of 13 dewatering wells and three pumping stations designed to control flood-related ground water behind the floodwalls, is also included in the project.

Iowa Memorial Union
Miron is responsible for the restoration of the basement and ground floor levels to pre-flood conditions. This includes the Iowa Memorial Union Bookstore, the Union Station food court and the Hawkeye Room. Miron is responsible for constructing a new floodwall system similar to that of Mayflower Residence Hall’s. Also included in the project is the construction of a new 540-square-foot north entrance vestibule, a 2,200-square-foot storage room under the west floodwall deck to store the removable floodwall components, and the construction of a series of eleven dewatering wells with pumping stations designed to prevent ground water from entering the building’s basement and ground floor levels during future flood events.