The fastest way through Hartley has not been a straight line over the past week.

Crews have been busy resurfacing a stretch of Highway 18 that runs from the east edge of town to the west edge. Work started on Aug. 24 with surface milling and is expected to wrap up by the end of the week when the new asphalt is completely poured.

The update is a state effort and not the city’s responsibility. Once it’s finished, the stretch of highway through Hartley will be reduced from four lanes to three. The middle lane will be used as a turning lane with the exterior two being used for east/west traffic. The setup will be identical to the stretch of Highway 18 that runs through Sanborn.

Hartley Superintendent of Public Works Jaron Benz has been receiving periodic updates on the project throughout the week. He said crews have had few problems during the project, but larger semi trucks have had some difficultly squeezing their way through the reduced lane sizes.

“It’s been a bit of a battle with wide loads, but overall I think it’s been going pretty well,” he said.

The resurfacing project was supposed to take place last year, but got pushed to 2022 by the Iowa Department of Transportation.