County moves forward with unpaved road changes

The Jasper County Board of Supervisors chose to waive the third public hearing and adopt an ordinance repealing and amending text on unpaved roads construction and reconstruction on Tuesday. A topic which has been at the forefront of many board meetings, the ordinance will establish the county’s policy for the construction and reconstruction of roads, bridges and other roadways in the secondary road system.

“We have not heard anything (from the public) after two meeting,s” assistant to the county engineer Pam Olson said.

With approval, the policy will set the minimum design standards the county will follow in construction or reconstruction roads and bridges. The criteria used will be based on accepted engineering practices and standards established by the Jasper County Engineer, Iowa Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration.

For granular surfaced roads, new construction will have a 28-foot finished top. Reconstruction of granular surfaced roads will have a 28-foot finished top and a 26-foot minimum may be used when terrain, right of way or sufficient drainage deems it necessary. If the road has an existing width of less than 28 feet, it will be finished to the pre-existing width if unable to be widened.

Bridges on unpaved routes will be constructed at a minimum of 24 feet. If culverts are used, they may be metal or concrete and pipe culverts larger than 54 inches in diameter can be substituted with reinforced box culverts.

The ordinance also addresses paved routes. New pavement will be constructed at a minimum of 22 feet wide with granular shoulders. Any intersection with non-paved roads will have pavement extended back onto the intersection road at a minimum of 50 foot beyond the end of the intersection radius.

Any reconstructed paved roads will be reconstructed at 22 feet wide with pavement or to the previous pavement width, whichever is greater. They will also have granular shoulders.

The board also waived the third public hearing establishing several Level B roadway designations in areas in the county. A 1.02 mile section of North 99th Avenue East near the Poweshiek County line in Hickory Grove Township, .22 miles on West 92nd Street North in Independence Township and one mile on North 35th Avenue West in Sherman Township were approved to change the designation.

In other business:

• A contract with Skiff Medical Center for employee wellness blood draw services was approved.

• Craig Nolin and James Lewis were approved for hire as skilled laborers in the secondary roads department. The starting pay rate is $21.81 per hour with a start date of Monday.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com