Henry County roads impress outsiders as crews tackle summer projects

MT. PLEASANT — Henry County’s roads are drawing high praise from visiting officials — just as the county positions itself to receive a $1.5 million grant to replace a key bridge north of Mt. Pleasant.

Emergency Management Director Walt Jackson told the Board of Supervisors on Wednesday that colleagues from other counties recently toured Henry County and were struck by the quality of its infrastructure. “They commended our road department on how well the shoulders and the sides of the roads looked and how wide they were,” Jackson said. “They said that would not happen in their county.”

County Engineer Jake Hotchkiss credited his team.

“My guys do good work, so I appreciate it,” he said.

While Jackson shared compliments, Hotchkiss delivered a wide-ranging update on ongoing maintenance and upcoming projects — the most significant being a planned amendment to the county’s five-year road program to pursue a Competitive Highway Bridge Program (CHBP) grant. If awarded, the grant would fully fund the replacement of Bridge 215 on Iowa Avenue — a project estimated at $1.5 million.

“This is kind of a big deal for the whole county,” Hotchkiss said.

The bridge project was one of several selected statewide by the Iowa County Engineers Grant Committee, which on Hotchkiss serves. Both Henry County and the City of Mt. Pleasant will submit applications. The grant deadline is Aug. 4.

The board will be asked to provide a letter of support and approve a 28E intergovernmental agreement in the coming weeks — similar to the county’s successful RAISE grant application.

In the meantime, Hotchkiss said the road department continues to make strong progress on summer maintenance. Crews completed shouldering on Oakland Mills Road this week and are preparing to begin work on Goodyear Road.

“We’re going to cut out some of the earth shoulders and put more rock,” he said.

Other ongoing tasks include blading gravel roads, hauling sand, spraying noxious weeds, and mowing. Hotchkiss said the county is roughly three-quarters finished with the first round of mowing gravel roads and has started mowing paved roads as well. Three mowers were operating last week.

A resurfacing project on Racine Avenue also wrapped up this week. The county used a scrub seal treatment — applying oil to the surface, scrubbing it in, and topping it with sand. Though rain caused tracking issues early, Hotchkiss said conditions improved quickly.

“This morning, at six o’clock when I drove through there, everything kind of settled out,” he told the Supervisors at the June 19 meeting.

Hotchkiss noted that Henry County avoided the kinds of problems seen recently in Jefferson County, where a chip seal treatment left roads sticky and drew public complaints.

“We’re fortunate,” he said. “We had the right weather. It worked out.”

With strong community feedback, continued maintenance progress, and a promising grant opportunity, Henry County’s road program is positioned for both short-term improvements and long-term investment.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Kruse@southeastiowaunion.com