County engineer outlines Winfield Avenue project

By Brooks Taylor, Mt. Pleasant News

It is a common belief that there can?t be summer without road-construction projects.

That being said, the county engineering office is gearing up for its first major construction project of the season ? a 1.04-mile joint city-county project on Winfield Avenue, stretching eastward from Grand Avenue to the U.S. Highway 218 overpass.

County Engineer Jake Hotchkiss said the start of the project has been pushed back one week to May 8, weather permitting. ?Jones Contracting (general contractor for the project) wanted to make sure they had all the materials before they began,? he explained.

Work, which includes pavement replacement and curb-and-gutter added to the city portion of the project (Grand Avenue to Iris Street), will be done in three phases, Hotchkiss said.

First phase will be from west of Iris Street working west to East End Automotive; the second phase will be from East End Automotive to Grand Avenue; and the final phase from the overpass west to Iris Street.

The city will pay for 40 percent of the $1,497,777 project with the county picking up the remaining 60 percent.

?This is all subject to change and weather dependent,? Hotchkiss stressed. ?It seems like whenever we get into projects, something unexpected always happens.?

Hotchkiss also informed the board that a bid letting was conducted at the Iowa Department of Transportation April 18 for the Skunk River bridge project, planned this summer.

Dormark Construction Co. was the apparent low bidder at $244,802.19. Just two bids were received.

The engineer?s estimate for the project, which includes work on the bridge over the Skunk River at Oakland Mills, was $195,000.

?It was over budget because of tedious work,? Hotchkiss pointed out. ?The project has a lot of small work.?

Hotchkiss said the county?s secondary road workers will begin shoulder pulling work soon. Plans are to do about 10-12 miles of shoulder work. He said that it takes about a week to do one mile.

Work by the secondary-roads crew last week included spot hauling rock for dust control locations; seed crews working on various locations; and hauling surfacing rock to Marsh and Logan avenues.

In supervisor sub-committee reports, Supervisor Gary See reported on the recent district meeting of Iowa Works. See said one Mt. Pleasant business ? American Hair Academy of Mt. Pleasant ? was approved to be a training provider for displaced workers. See also said unemployment in Henry County in February, according to Iowa Works, was 3.3 percent. State unemployment was 3.2 percent. In February 2016, county unemployment was 4.4 percent.

See also said that officials were pleased with participation in the recent job fair at the Mt. Pleasant National Guard Armory. There were over 46 employers and 200 job seekers at the fair.

Supervisor Marc Lindeen said the Great River Regional Waste Authority board talked about reducing tipping fees for public entities wishing to do beautification projects.

The board meets again Thursday, April 27, at 9 a.m. in the Henry County Courthouse.