County engineer plans to replace more than 20 bridges in the next 5 years or so

Over the next five years, almost two dozen bridges in Jasper County are planned to be replaced, along with five HMA resurfacing projects, 10 or so pavement projects and a few surface improvement projects, according to the fiscal year 2026 (FY26) secondary roads five-year program.

County Engineer Michael Frietsch said all construction projects — replacing in kind or repairing — are included in the five-year plan. Regularly scheduled maintenance work is not included in the plan. He noted the dates included in the plan are when the projects will be let and not necessarily when the work is done.

However, there are a number of projects whose accomplishment year has been set for FY26, which is from July 1, 2025 until June 30, 2026.

Bridge R01 on East 40th Street South over Reasnor Creek will be replaced with pipe. The Bridge R20 project on West 24th Street South over Buck Creek will be let after July 1 and then be built within the next year. Bridge S33 on County Line Road over a branch of Skunk River is expected to be finished in fall.

Bridge C16 on North 99th Avenue East over Little Snipe Creek will be let on July 1, but the materials probably won’t show up until summer 2026. HMA pavement is planned for North 51st Avenue East from Hilltop Estates to the Polk County line, which will reinforce the road to handle construction traffic at the subdivision.

Bridge S13 on East 64th Street South over a small stream is another local bridge replacement with pipe. Pavement improvements are planned for South Main Street in Reasnor, which was a quote approved last year. A box culvert replacement on South 20th Avenue West is also letting in July.

Pavement maintenance is also planned on Highway S-74 South, Image Avenue and Highway T-38 North. Bridge S07 on Highway F-62 over Elk Creek will be let in December or January 2026. The FLAP grant project for improved access to Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge is being let in June.

PCC paving will be completed at South 128th Avenue East near Co-Line Manufacturing, and that will also be let in July. The third phase of the HMA resurfacing project for Highway F-48 West from Colfax to the Polk County line is going to be let in March 2026.

“That’s what we got coming up in the accomplishment year as far as our program goes,” Frietsch said to the board of supervisors back in early April. “…We’ve got a variety of more projects after that in the priority years. But that’s kind of what we got coming up the next year or so here.”

The board of supervisors approved the FY26 five-year program for the secondary roads department in a 3-0 vote.