Direct I-80 link benefits Pella

John Jennings/Daily News Raymond Terlouw and his brother Vernon check out the maps detailing the potential route to link Pella to I-80, during a public meeting at the Sully Community Center Thursday evening. Vernon Terlouw, who lives near T22 in the proposed corridor for new construction, said he had mixed feelings about the project.

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SULLY — The city of Pella has been feeling rather isolated lately. With Pella Corporation, Vermeer’s and several other businesses in the area, there is no direct route out of town to connect truck traffic with Interstate 80, particularly eastbound traffic. For that reason, the city has hired a consulting firm, CH2M Hill, of Des Moines to conduct a feasibility study to determine the best route, both physically and economically to I-80 from Pella. With the study nearing completion, an open house explaining the process and seeking input from interested residents was Thursday evening at the Sully Community Center. The firm began by identifying 25 potential routes, with a northern point in Jasper County along I-80 and a southern point near Pella. Then, based on criteria such as least redundancy to existing routes and a balanced access to I-80, the choices were reduced to five routes. The choices were reduced further by determining regional connectivity, lower cost and the route’s ability to serve existing industry. Although the feasibility study is not quite complete, it is identifying one route as the most likely choice for a direct link to the Pella area. That route would probably utilize I-80’s Kellogg exit at mile marker 173 and Highway 224 and T-22 at its northern section in Jasper County. However, Pella and CH2M Hill representatives say the project will be a long one, and the final route determination is about two or three years away. Although Pella and its manufacturing sector would certainly be the major benefactors of a direct northern route to I-80, much of the thinking in economic development circles is on a regional basis. A direct route would no doubt have benefits for Jasper County as well. A study of truck traffic in and out of Sully conducted earlier this fall by the Sully Economic Development Corp. determined that there were more than 39,000 trucks sent out from Sully area businesses annually, while more than 75,500 trucks were coming into the Sully area over the same time period. “We are very supportive of the project,” said Sully Mayor Gordon Yarrington. “It would be a good advantage for us to get a direct route to the north. For economic growth, for our school system, it would be a big benefit.” Others attending the meeting Thursday night were not so sure. Vernon Terlouw, who lives in the T22 corridor northwest of Sully, said he had mixed feelings about the proposed highway. “I don’t want to stand in the way of progress, but I don’t want to see them take our land away from us, either,” Terlouw said. While funding for the project would probably be mainly from federal sources, Jasper County would naturally have to be involved. “If you had to rely on Jasper County dollars for this project, it’s never going to happen,” said Craig Hamilton, Jasper County Economic Development Corp. director. But federal and state funding should move the project along, he said. The project is still 10 or 15 years away from completion, and the feasibility study is a very early component of the final route construction. With the study set to be finalized next month, the next stage would be to prepare mapping and survey data and conduct fieldwork for wetlands, cultural resources, endangered species, noise and hazardous waste materials.

John Jennings can be contacted at 792-3121 ext. 425 or via e-mail at jennings@newtondailynews.com.