Jasper County willing to split costs with Iowa Street neighbors for feasibility study

Supervisors are going to draft a formal letter to residents on Iowa Street about the idea of sharing costs for a feasibility study on a bridge that was closed and is due to be removed. The bridge closure was adamantly opposed by many neighbors who pleaded with the county to think outside the box for a solution.

Splitting expenses for a feasibility study that could propose different bridge structures is certainly outside the box for Jasper County. However, it is also important to note the feasibility study could just tell supervisors and residents what they already know or have heard. Still, supervisors were open to the idea.

Supervisor Brandon Talsma said in a work session this week that the feasibility study for the bridge on Iowa Street could cost around $15,000. He said residents questioned how the county can conduct a feasibility study for the T-38 bridge over a railroad crossing but won’t conduct a study for the bridge on Iowa Street.

“Is this something we would like (County Engineer) Mike (Frietsch) to pursue and put an RFP (request for proposal) out? Most likely who we would contract with would be Benesch, which was the one that just got done finishing up the T-38 feasibility study,” Talsma said. “It would cost $10,000 to $15,000.”

In August, the board of supervisors paid $35,000 for the T-38 feasibility study. It was suggested the Iowa Street bridge may be a lower scope project than the bridge over the railroad crossing. Talsma suggested if the county does move forward with this new feasibility study, it needs to be a cost-share with area homeowners.

Discussions with supervisors indicated it would be a 50-50 split or a 60-40 split with residents covering a bulk of the costs. If the engineer’s estimates are correct and the feasibility study is only $15,000, it would cost each of the 16 or so homeowners approximately $500.

“I do not think that it is unreasonable to ask them to financially contribute to the feasibility study,” Talsma said before giving a scenario on the outcome of the study. “…They’re going to survey it and be like, ‘If you want to replace this bridge, here’s Option A, here’s Option B, here’s Option C, and here are realistic costs.’”

When neighbors argued against the closure of the bridge, some proposed the county use railcar bridges, which uses decommissioned flatcars as a cost-effective solution for bridge replacement. Supervisors are still very much against the practice for this particular bridge type used over the North Skunk River.

Neighbors argued against the bridge closure because doing so eliminated the only other access point to their neighborhood along Iowa Street. The only other way in is through a railroad crossing. Residents said trains often stop for long periods of time and block them entering and exiting their neighborhood.

Supervisors reached consensus that letters would be sent out to residents living on Iowa Street about the county’s proposal. Talsma noted the concerns of the Iowa Street neighbors are valid, and the board of supervisors want them to know they are being taken seriously.

“We are taking the concerns of what’s going on out there very seriously,” Talsma said. “We’re not being dismissive. We are trying to go above and beyond and try to do our due diligence to see are there avenues or are there ways that we haven’t thought that we can possibly try to work with them to rectify the situation.”