Construction begins Monday on Winfield Avenue

By Brooks Taylor, Mt. Pleasant News

Winfield Avenue will be closing from Iris Street to the west of Grand Avenue to through traffic, beginning Monday, May 8, Henry County Engineer Jake Hotchkiss told the Henry County supervisors Tuesday.

Business access to the impacted businesses will be from Grand Avenue. The only access to the Pilot Truck Plaza will be from Grand Avenue.

The contractors for the work will be Fye Excavating and Jones Contracting.

Construction beginning Monday will be the first phase of a three-phase project in which Winfield Avenue will be reconstructed from Grand Avenue to just east of the Highway 218 overpass. The work includes pavement removal, regrading and repaving. During the first construction phase, Iris Street will remain open at the intersection with Winfield Avenue and 220th Street. There will be a posted detour route to assist drivers.

The City of Mt. Pleasant and Henry County entered into a 28E agreement to finance the project with the city paying 40 percent of the costs. The city?s portion of the street will also include curb-and-gutter.

Supervisors also approved a contract with Calhoun-Burns Associates for the final design of a railroad bridge on Franklin Avenue.

In other information, Hotchkiss told the board he is working on plans for the county sheds in Winfield and Wayland.

Last week?s work by the secondary-roads crew included spot hauling rock for dust control locations; prepping materials for work on the 260th Street bridge west of Benton Avenue; installing crossroad pipe on Clayton Avenue; working on ditching projects; reseeding; and working on signs.

Supervisors also approved the first reading of wastewater ordinances impacting the former City of Mt. Union.

Both ordinances are more similar than different and provides for the payment of sewer fees now that the county will be serving as the agent for the Regional Utility Service Systems (RUSS). The ordinance defines delinquent accounts as user accounts, which have overdue payments outstanding as of the effective date of the ordinance.

It also says that delinquent accounts will be collected through a one-time special assessment on Sept. 30, 2017. A late payment of 1.5 percent per month will be added to each delinquent bill.

The ordinances will receive a second reading Thursday, May 4, and the third reading and adoption, Tuesday, May 9. The ordinances will be effective once adopted and published.

Supervisors will next meet in regular session Thursday, May 4, at 9 a.m., in the Henry County Courthouse.