This has been a busy construction year for the Secondary Road Department.   A number of projects have been completed early this year due to the dry weather.   A season that has been tough on farming has allowed much of our project work to be completed in record time this year.

FM-CO97(95)—55-97  HMA Resurfacing on D-50 from L-27 west 2 miles. Contractor: Western Engineering of Harlan, IA.  Bid price: $561,347.  This project involved two miles of cold in place recycling followed by a three inch asphalt overlay.  This project had originally been let in June 2011, but all bids were rejected due to a very high bid from contractors compared to the project estimate.  The project was re-let in August 2011 after combining it with other projects resulting in a savings of over $260,000 compared to the June bid .   Project work started in mid-June 2012 with in place recycling of the existing pavement.  All resurfacing and shouldering was completed in mid-August.   Pavement marking work was completed in mid-September.  

FM-CO97(96)—55-97  HMA Resurfacing on L-21 from D-38 to D-54.  Contractor: Western Engineering.   Bid price:  $1,710,640.   Approximately 9 miles of HMA resurfacing was completed. Work started in mid-June 2012.   Shouldering work was finished on the project in late August.   Pavement marking work was completed in mid-September.  

FM-CO97(115)—55-97  HMA Resurfacing on L-12, from Iowa 141 to Monona County line.  Contractor: Western Engineering.   Bid price:  $306,118.   All resurfacing work is complete. Shouldering work was finished on the project in early September.   Edge line striping was done along with the other three asphalt projects and was completed in mid-September.   The City of Smithland also added some work in conjunction with the county project with an overlay of the parking areas in the downtown.  

FM-CO97(116)—55-97  Culvert replacement on D38/K64 on the Moville Blacktop.   Project letting: May 15, 2012.    Contractor: Gus Construction.    Bid price: $210,006.00.    Contract late start date: August 13, 2012.   An existing short span bridge was replaced with a twin 10' x 10' reinforced concrete box culvert.   Project work started early in the last week of June.  All work is finished and the road reopened to the last week of August.  

M-LB12(1)K185  Bridge replacement on Michigan Avenue in section 11 of Kedron Township.Letting date: March 20, 2012.    Contractor: Nelson and Rock Contracting, Inc.    Bid price:  $80,126.00 plus $42,000 for precast bridge slab and county supplied material.   All work is finished and the bridge reopened to traffic Friday, August 31, 2012.

BROS-CO97(102)—8J-97  Bridge replacement located on Knox Ave., 1.5 miles north of US 20. Contractor: Dixon Construction.  Bid price:  $283,777.62.  This project was let on August 16, 2011.  The project is for an 80’ x 30.5’ Continuous Concrete Slab Bridge.   Winter work allowed this project to be completed early this spring.   The project is complete and the road reopened to traffic on May 15, 2012.   

BROS-CO97(93)—8J-97 Bridge replacement located on Glen Ellen, 1300’  north of Elk Creek Road. Contractor: Dixon Construction.  Bid price:  $643,886.38.   This project was let on August 16, 2011.   The project was for the construction of a new 120’ x 30.5’ Continuous Concrete Slab Bridge and included some road realignment.   Road grading work is completed the week of June 11th.   The road was gravelled and opened to traffic on June 15, 2012.   Erosion control work including seeding was completed the following week.   Field fence replacement was completed in July..

HDP-CO97(113)—6B-97  5” unbounded PCC overlay on K-35 from 42 east 1300’. Contractor: Steve Harris Construction, Inc.     Bid price of $198,764.54.   This project was for a concrete overlay of county road K42 west of the I-29 ramp.  The project is complete and the road reopened May 17, 2012.

FM-CO97(114)—55-97  Culvert replacement on D38 east of Jasper Avenue.    Letting date November 15, 2011.    Contractor: Nelson and Rock Contracting, Inc.    Bid price: $40,630.00.   Contract has been awarded by the Board.   The contractor moved in on the project on June 1^st and major work was completed by June 15th with no road closure.   This project involved leaving the existing bridge in place with a precast concrete culvert pushed under the bridge.   The space between the culvert and bridge was filled with flowable mortar.   This allowed the bridge to be replaced with no road closure.  Temporary lane closures were necessary during unloading of precast culvert sections and during placement of flowable mortar around the culvert after it is in place.   

BROS-CO97(100)—8J-97, Bridge Replacement Project on 290^th Street in section 11 of Willow Township.   Letting date: September 18, 2012.    Contract Price: $728,439.30.  Late start date: June 10, 2013, with 95 working days.   The contract has been approved by the Iowa DOT and the Board of Supervisors.   A preconstruction meeting was held on Friday, October 19^th.    Construction work on site began tghe week of October 22, 2012.   It is likely the bridge will be closed through the winter.   It is anticipated that the impact of this closure should be minimal for heavy trucks and our motor graders as the bridge is already posted for less than legal loads.   Project completion is expected in late May-early June, 2013.

New Projects in Design:    Design work is starting on four projects for 2013 construction.  The bridge on Old Highway 141 west of Bronson is under design for replacement.   The design work is being done in house.    We are anticipating a late summer letting for this bridge.   County staff is also working on design for the resurfacing of County Highway D54 from the west city limits of Danbury to just west of the intersection of County Highway L27.   This project was originally concepted as a hot mix asphalt overlay project.    A cost analysis showed the project could be constructed as a Portland cement concrete overlay project at a similar cost.    The PCC alternative design should be longer lasting and require less maintenance than a hot mix asphalt design.   A project to replace the aging Luton pavement on county route D50 is also underway.  This will be a PCC inlay project.    The existing pavement will be removed, crushed and relaid as base.  A new 8" concrete pavement will be placed.   Shoulders will be widened about a foot, but no adjacent drainage work will be done as part of this project.    Finally, county bridge X9 on 280^th Street northwest of Danbury is being designed by Calhoun Burns and Associates.   The project is scheduled for letting in July 2013.   We have selected a twin reinforced concrete box culvert with a drop inlet as the replacement structure for this bridge.