Board approves Riverview Rd. overlay project plans

     During the April 8 Jones County Supervisors meeting, the board heard about the preliminary plans for an HMA overlay project on Riverview Road, a joint project with the City of Cascade.

   The scope of the project is 1 mile of hot mix asphalt from Buchanan Street, east to the gravel portion of the roadway.

   County Engineer Derek Snead said the plan is to match the existing 22-foot-wide surface.

   "This will make it a smoother ride," he said of the excessive bumps that are currently along the roadway. "We'll level it out."

   The project is proposed to be let on May 27. Snead said this gives the City of Cascade a couple of weeks to finalize the 28E agreement and approve it at their city council meeting. Then, the county will have to advertise for bids.

   The board asked Snead what the project estimate might be. For the 22-foot-wide roadway and 3-foot granular shoulders, it would be around $200,000.

   Snead also offered two alternatives to the project. For paved shoulders, which would mean a 28-foot-width paved roadway, that would add $43,000 to the cost.

   If they treated Riverview as a high-traffic road, and milled the surface with two full lifts, that would give the roadway more longevity. That option would bring the total cost to $350,000.

   Snead said he would prefer to see how the bids come in and decide on an option during the bid letting.

   "Would we ask for bids for the three separate projects?" asked Supervisor John Schlarmann.

   Snead said he'll ask the contractor to bid the project as it is proposed and use the bid quantities to create one of the additional options at that time.

   "That won't change the price much at all," he told the board. "We can add it in."

   The board approved the plans for Riverview.

   Aside from Riverview, Snead also intended to put together two estimates for overlays on Shaw Road in Anamosa and River Road in Monticello. Shaw would be a 1,000-foot overlay on a 28-foot-wide roadway, at a cost of $50,000. The overlay on that road was last done in 2008.

   River Road is a narrower, dead-end road. That cost would be $70,000 from where the road starts to the end of the parking lot.

   Snead said was a little hesitant to include River Road knowing the water levels of the Maquoketa River tend to go up and down with the amount of rain. If the water gets too high, it overtops the roadway.

   "We have a potential for a wash-out," he said.