Jasper County sets public hearings and forum for bridge removal

Jasper County has scheduled public hearing dates for the proposed closure and removal of a bridge along North 95th Avenue West over Indian Creek.

The public hearings will take place 9:30 a.m. Nov. 4 and 18 in the board of supervisors room of the Jasper County Courthouse. Residents impacted by the proposed closure are encouraged to participate in the hearings and give their thoughts on the subject before supervisors make their decision.

Supervisor Brandon Talsma also suggested a public forum take the place of one of the hearings and be held in the evening, allowing residents to ask questions and interact with the board outside of normal meeting hours. Talsma said this method would let people give the county feedback when they get off work.

The public forum will be held 6:30 p.m. Nov. 10 in the board of supervisors chambers of the Jasper County Courthouse.

County Engineer Michael Frietsch said the bridge is located in the Clear Creek township close to the Polk County line. The bridge is about 100 years old and is a double pony truss bridge with a pier in the middle. Currently, the bridge is still open. But by Oct. 17 the bridge will be closed off to traffic.

Apart from its deterioration and rust due to old age, the bridge has issues with its center pier settling down and tilting west, causing the west span of the pony truss to shift and push itself against the abutment. Frietsch said the bridge is not being supported correctly anymore. The structure itself is so rusted.

“It needs to be closed,” he said. “It’s beyond repair.”

Frietsch said there are not many homes in the area. It is mostly farm fields. He does not anticipate seeing too many people speak about the bridge closure hearings, particularly when compared to the most recent bridge closure near Iowa Street. Several residents spoke out against that bridge’s removal.

“We were aware the Iowa Street bridge was getting close. This is another one we were aware of that was getting close,” Friestch said. “We were hoping we could go a little further with it until we saw the pictures from the latest bridge inspection. Based upon the damage and deterioration I saw … we need to close it.”

Calhoun-Burns & Associates also recommended the county close the bridge. Other bridges are getting close to needed closures, too, like the bridge on Eagle Street and the bridge on North 75th Avenue West. If supervisors approve the closure, crews will remove the bridge structure itself and install concrete barriers.

Frietsch said there are challenges in replacing the bridge. By comparison, the Iowa Street bridge had 120 square miles of drainage area thanks to the North Skunk River, while the bridge on North 95th Avenue West has 223 square miles thanks to Indian Creek. Frietsch said it is almost double the amount of drainage.

It would be an undertaking — and an expensive one at that — to replace the bridge.

“The way the creek cuts through there and the way that bridge was positioned, it would require an entire shift of the road there to the southeast, an entirely different alignment road to get the bridge lined up,” Frietsch said. “You’d be talking about probably a 200- to 225-foot span bridge and you’d have to raise it.”