Construction will close Hickory Avenue for one week

MT. PLEASANT — Road crews across Henry County are pushing ahead with culvert replacements, gravel grading, shared equipment purchases, and paving preparation as the spring construction season picks up momentum.

Hickory Avenue will close Tuesday, May 27, between 140th and 150th Streets for a culvert and pipe replacement. The project is expected to take about a week, weather permitting. Though the project was originally scheduled to begin last week, it was delayed due to rain.

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“Mother Nature said, ‘Let’s not do it this week,’” County Engineer Jake Hotchkiss told the Board of Supervisors during his May 22 update.

The Hickory Avenue closure is part of a broader maintenance effort throughout the county. Recent rainfall allowed blade operators to improve gravel roads and support reseeding efforts.

“They’ll continue the rest of this week, blading, seeding, and mulching,” Hotchkiss said.

Seeding has been completed along Quincy Avenue and 305th Street, though some areas may require touch-ups following heavy rains.

Hotchkiss also outlined a new cost-sharing arrangement with Washington County. The two counties will jointly purchase a $30,000 trailer outfitted for concrete patching — including tools such as a saw, concrete forms, blankets, and a concrete breaker for skid loaders. Each county will pay half.

“Right now, we throw things in pickup trucks or on flatbed trailers,” Hotchkiss said. “This would just be, ‘Hey, we’re going to do some patching,’ and everything’s already loaded. We hook up to the trailer and take off.”

The agreement will be formalized through a 28E intergovernmental agreement and modeled after a similar multicounty arrangement for a shared shoulder-pull machine.

On Old Highway 34, a rock interlayer has been laid in advance of seal coating. Hotchkiss said heavy rains had little effect on the project. “It shed the water pretty well,” he said, citing effective ditching.

The county also wrapped up its annual quarry operation, crushing just under 125,000 tons of material — slightly above the contracted amount. The total includes both road and bedding stone. Hotchkiss said lime, a byproduct of the process, may be made available to the public later this year at around $7 per ton.

“It’s a waste product that we have no use for,” he said.

Separately, seal coat work began Thursday on Jewel Avenue. That project is funded by local property owners.

Residents with questions about ongoing road work are encouraged to contact the Henry County Engineer’s Office at 319-385-0762.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Kruse@southeastiowaunion.com