Engineer: Benton Avenue project nearing completion

BY BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

Jake Hotchkiss has been hoping for rain for a couple of weeks now. The county engineer is getting his wish and that means some projects on hold due to dry conditions can come to fruition.

?With this rain, we will be working on gravel roads,? Hotchkiss told the Henry County Supervisors during their meeting Tuesday morning. ?You should see blades out there working.?

Hotchkiss? weekly report was the only item on the board?s agenda, and he updated supervisors on the secondary roads department?s progress on a number of projects.

?Most of our work has been on Benton Avenue, and we have been finishing that up,? he said. ?The grading for the road top on Benton was completed Friday. We are working on cleanup there now and the road is still closed to through traffic.?

Later this week (Thursday and Friday dependent upon the weather), stabilizer material will be placed on Benton Avenue and the road will be closed to all traffic. Access, however, will be provided to residents in the impacted area although their usual routes will be diverted, he said.

In other construction matters, Hotchkiss said he hopes to complete the grading at Faulkner?s Access. He said his department is securing the right-of-way and then will be scheduling its clearing operation. ?If the weather turns on us, we may be grading in the spring,? he noted.

The engineer also noted that 2016 would be a major construction year for the county. ?We have completed all of the projects on the five-year plan for 2015 with the exception of 260th Street. Next summer will be a large construction season for us,? he stated. ?We will be busy with Winfield Avenue and several other projects.?

Last week, county workers were busy hauling resurfacing rock to Trenton and Tippacanoe townships, Hotchkiss reported. The cold-patching crew was sent out to various locations and work on Benton Avenue completed secondary roads department?s workload.

The engineer is completing design work and plans for two culverts to be replaced west of Olds on 140th Street and Hickory Avenue. He said he hopes to contract with the same contractor to replace both culverts.

?Letting (the bid) for both should get us a better price because the contractor would not have to mobilize twice and the culverts are in the same area,? said Hotchkiss.

Finally, Hotchkiss reported the consultant has submitted plans to his department and the Iowa Department of Transportation for a review of the Ash Avenue bridge project. A bid letting is scheduled on the project for February 2016.

Supervisors will meet again in regular session on Thursday, Oct. 29, at 9 a.m., in the Henry County Courthouse.