Engineer hoping for short window of hot, dry weather

By BRYCE KELLY

Mt. Pleasant News

It seems that no matter how much he tries, Henry County Engineer, Jake Hotchkiss can?t seem to see eye to eye with Mother Nature.

?We really need a three-day window this week where we have hot, dry weather in order to make progress on some of our major projects,? said Hotchkiss as he discussed his weekly report with the Henry County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.

Hotchkiss and Iowa?s weather have been at war, it seems, this summer as rainy weather has foiled many attempts to make consistent progress on various road projects throughout the county.

In terms of the Marsh Avenue bridge project, the grading subcontractor doing the work has been able to get some work completed recently. However, wet weather yesterday and throughout last week is very much hampering his progress, according to Hotchkiss.

It is much the same for the W55/Franklin Avenue project. The contractor for that project is currently working on shoulders as weather allows, and will be working to replace a cross road pipe and a few intakes in Salem.

As for the 320th Street Riverbank stabilization project, Hotchkiss was able to report something he hasn?t been able to do for some time.

?The contractor will be moving in equipment on Thursday,? said Hotchkiss of the project. ?Hopefully the river will be a little lower by then to start working. It?s still a little higher than what we would like, but we can work with where it?s at right now.?

One project that really doesn?t seem to be bothered too much by the weather has been a countywide pavement markings project. So far, the county has finished painting edge lines and will be moving on to centerlines soon.

Hotchkiss is still reminding drivers to be aware of road crews out and about, and asks for continued patience as crews work to maintain Henry County?s roadways.

Also on Hotchkiss? to-do list was to obtain approval from the board of supervisors for two permits, including one for work in a right-of-way on Airport Road and one for a power line reconstruction on 335th Street, east of Highway 218. Both were approved.

Finally, Supervisor Greg Moeller gave a sub-committee report on a recent Southeast Iowa Regional Planning meeting, reporting some statistics regarding SEIBUS services in the area.

?In fiscal year 2015, a total of 142,912 rides were given, which is an eight percent increase in total rides from the last fiscal year,? Moeller said. ?Of that number, 18,680 of those rides were from the general public, while about 49,000 of that total number was from Medicaid.?

With the recent installation of Nicole Baker as the SEIBUS transit director, Moeller says SEIBUS is looking at new and innovative ways to continue to increase SEIBUS ridership in the southeast Iowa area.

The next Henry County Board of Supervisors meeting will be held on Thursday, July 30, at 9 a.m., in the Henry County Courthouse.