Fairfield, county receive I-JOBS road work funds

All of Iowa?s cities and counties, including Fairfield and Jefferson County, are expected to receive an installment next week of their share of $45 million for roads from the state?s I-JOBS infrastructure initiative.

Estimates are the city of Fairfield will receive $93,042, and Jefferson County will receive $175,195 of the City Street and County Road Funding.

Estimates for other towns in the county are: $4,845 for Batavia, $1,684 for Libertyville, $1,512 for Lockridge, $1,150 for Maharishi Vedic City, $1,341 for Packwood and $726 for Pleasant Plain.

In Van Buren County, estimates are for $177,085 for the county, $3,004 for Birmingham, $3,305 for Bonaparte, $1,926 for Cantril, $7,326 for Farmington, $10,329 for Keosauqua, $5,329 for Milton, $174 for Mount Sterling and $1,620 for Stockport.

At a news conference at Des Moines? public works center, Gov. Chet Culver said the money will be an important investment in Iowa road and city street projects.

?Whether it?s an urban area like Des Moines, or a small town in northeast Iowa like McGregor in Clayton County, every part of our state and the people of our state will benefit directly,? Culver said.

Des Moines, Iowa?s largest city, will see more than $1.9 million. On the other end of the spectrum, the town of Galt in Wright County, with a population of just 30, will receive $217 from I-JOBS.

Another $50 million from the $830 million I-JOBS program will go to 55 bridge projects around the state. Neither Jefferson nor Van Buren counties receive any money from the Primary Highway System Bridges Funding.

To highlight the need for transportation improvements, Culver pointed to the Interstate 80 bridge over the Mississippi River at LeClaire that currently is closed to westbound traffic because of structural defects.

?That?s why this Legislature, I believe, and my office had a responsibility to step up and address this very serious infrastructure challenge,? Culver said.

Iowa Department of Transportation Director Nancy Richardson said one out of every four bridges in Iowa is considered structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, meaning it does not have the features needed to handle the level of traffic it sees.

Money from I-JOBS will help improve 10 percent of deficient bridges in Iowa, Richardson said.

The money to cities and counties has no strings attached, although local governments must follow reporting requirements, Culver said.

?One of the things I?m very proud of is that we?re giving the local officials, the cities and the counties, a lot of power in terms of making their decision on how they invest this money,? Culver said.

Jefferson County Engineer Tom Goff has said previously that work on Pleasant Plain Road is a strong option for use of the funds.

Fairfield City Administrator John F. Brown said city officials just learned of the funding Thursday, so no specific street projects have been identified yet, but there are several streets that need rebuilt or resurfaced.

Brown pointed out it costs $30,000 a block to resurface a street and $150,000 a block to rebuild a street.

Fairfield Mayor Ed Malloy said the funding is scheduled to be disbursed over two years. The city is to receive 45 percent of the funding this fiscal year and the balance in July 2010.

Malloy said the city?s street repair committee is scheduled to meet within the next few weeks to begin discussions for the 2010 plan and this funding will be included in those plans.

For the complete article, see the Friday, July 24, 2009, Fairfield Ledger.