County ranks high with fewer deficient bridges

     In seven years, Jones County has gone from 52 posted/weight-restricted bridges and structures to just 10 remaining today.

     County Engineer Derek Snead shared the great news with the Jones County Supervisors during their Sept. 15 board meeting.

     Snead said the State of Iowa also tracks how many deficient bridges and structures exist across Iowa.

     In 2013, Jones County reported 52 bridges with either weight restrictions or posted limits.

     “There were a lot out there at that point,” recalled Snead.

     Since then, Secondary Roads and the county has allocated a lot of local funds to bring those bridges up to code. Snead said the work on these bridges also involved a lot of local labor.

     “More than half were done in-house to prolong the life of the existing structure,” he said. “We did a lot of box culverts and slab bridges since 2013.”

     Today there remains just 10 posted structures, with three listed on Secondary Roads’ five-year road program.

     “There are still a few out there,” warned Snead.

     While counties and states would say having zero posted structures is a good thing, Snead said that’s not necessarily an important goal.

     “There is some justification (for posted bridges),” said Snead. “Some have no need for upgrades because they’re in pretty good shape.”

     Supervisor Wayne Manternach praised Secondary Roads for focusing on improving bridges throughout the county.

     “In seven years, this is pretty good,” said Manternach.

     As of 2019, Jones County is tied for fifth place statewide in terms of the number of deficient bridges.

     Of the remaining 10 bridges, two are currently closed to traffic: Stone Bridge Road and Jordan Road.

     While it’s a good thing that Jones County’s bridges are being upgraded, the downside is less bridge fund allocations.

     “That fund has gone down since 2013,” Snead informed the board. “$190,000 annually doesn’t add up to many bridges.”

     He is looking into grant opportunities to bring more money into the bridge program.

     “It’ll take several years to save up,” he warned.

     Snead also clarified that if a bridge has a posted weight limit, that does not necessarily mean it is deficient. The same is true for vice versa.

     “If a component of the bridge is bad, it’s deficient and gets a rating,” explained Snead. “It can be a good bridge, but it’s not meant to carry today’s agriculture traffic load.”

     Secondary Roads is currently working to re-rate all of the bridges and structures in the county to encapsulate special haul vehicles.

In other county business:

     • Manternach informed the board that the Board of Health is looking to propose a facemask mandate countywide.

     “It’s a hot-button issue that might be coming,” warned Manternach.

     County Attorney Kristofer Lyons was asked to investigate the county’s enforcement options under such a mandate.

     • The board approved fireworks permits for Dillon Langel and Brent and Dawn Schroeder for Sept. 19 on 148^th Street in Scotch Grove; and Josh Von Sprecken and Chad and Connie Rubner for Sept. 26 on Second Street in Center Junction.

     Both events cannot exceed 200 people.

     • County Auditor and Commissioner of Elections Janine Sulzner reported receiving 600 applications for absentee ballots in one day’s time. Of those, 150 were duplicate ballot request forms. She said several different political-affiliated groups are sending voters ballot applications, and voters are filling out and sending multiple forms in.

     So far, a total of 2,900 application forms have been received in Jones County.

     • The board approved a $220,098.75 contract with B&J Excavating to remove debris in the southern half of the county that was impacted by the Aug. 10 derecho.

     Supervisor Jon Zirkelbach said he received several calls from people asking why Secondary Roads doesn’t haul the debris away themselves versus hiring the job out.

     Snead said with so many different sites impacted and the tight timeframe in which to complete the project, it’s better to hire the work done.

     “We need to get it removed prior to winter or we’ll create an even larger problem,” said Snead.

     Seventy-five percent of the project is eligible for FEMA reimbursement.

     Supervisor Joe Oswald said if Secondary Roads took care of the debris-removal themselves, other projects such as gravel road maintenance would get pushed to the side.