Engineer provides construction updates

MT. PLEASANT — According to an update provided by Henry County Engineer Jake Hotchkiss, the construction projects on Lowell Hill and Ashe Avenue continue at a good pace.

Hotchkiss stated that construction work continues south of the bridge for the Lowell Hill project.

“Contractors place modified subbase on approximately 1700 feet,” Hotchkiss said. “That’s the base for the asphalt.”

“So, that means we're relatively done with the road top itself for not quite half the project right now,” he informed the Henry County Board of Supervisors Tuesday morning. “Things are moving pretty well on that, in all honesty.”

Hotchkiss stated that the road department has added a seven-foot shoulder to the first section of this project.

“That'll be a big improvement because slopes are a lot flatter than what they were before on that section of hill,” Hotchkiss said.

Currently, crews are working to haul waste material off the project site and placing it north of Lowell on X23.

At this time, the road is closed to one lane for approximately eight more days.

“It may hopefully be a little quicker than that,” Hotchkiss said. “Yesterday we had a really good day. As we progress, hopefully we'll have more good days. So far we haven't any hiccups, but it's construction, so at some point I'm sure there will be a hiccup out there.”

Flaggers are directing traffic at the site.

“So we have two guys out there flagging, and when the trucks come, they're holding traffic and then releasing traffic,” Hotchkiss explained. “So, there's a little bit of disturbance, but for the most part during the working hours, that's when people see us out there.”

According to Hotchkiss, the last section of this project will include replacing two crossroad pipes and grading a short section.

“That last little section will be shut off completely,” he said. “We're hoping by the end of July they'll be done with grading operations and in August we’ll be on to paving, that would be the hope.”

The Ashe Avenue culvert project south of Hillsboro is also making decent progress, though Hotchkiss stated that the next phase will slow things down.

“The culvert is complete and they're working on backfilling this week,” he said. “This aspect of the project is usually where it slows down because the backfilling just takes a little more time. The big crew has moved off and so they'll have a few guys out there working on the backfilling and grading and then we'll have a crew coming in to do the pavement slab at some point.”

Hotchkiss anticipates next week as the earliest crews will begin work on paving, but also stated it could be another week on top of that, “…it just depends on how well that gets backfilled.”

The estimated timeline for the Ashe Avenue project is two months from May 31 with detours redirecting traffic to Highway 16, Franklin Avenue, and Salem Road in the meantime.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com