Engineer outlines $48 million 5-year road plan

LEE COUNTY – Lee County Engineer Ben Hull submitted the annual five-year road plan to Lee County Supervisors on Tuesday morning.
Hull presented the plan to the Supervisors in a workshop several weeks ago and said the plan is essentially the same with a few changes. The plan has also been approved by the Iowa Department of Transportation.
“For the most part, it is the same with a few changes,” Hull said.
There were two bridge projects – one north of Franklin and one on Chalk Ridge Rd. – for a total of $2 million that the county received a grant for most of the cost of the project under a competitive highway bridge program.
Hull said the DOT has also reached out for an offer to the county in conjunction with some shoulder  repaving along Hwy. 27 in the north part of the county from Donnellson to the Henry County line.
“At the same time, they're offering to include in the project, but at our expense, to pave the 50-foot sections back from the highway on county gravel roads,” Hull said.
“This helps keep some of the gravel from being pulled back onto the highway into traffic, but helps a great deal for our maintenance folks as they blade – they don’t have to have their blades sitting on the highway during the work.”
Estimated cost of that work would be about $100,000, but Hull said there would be additional agreements that needed to be signed prior to that.

Another project change  would be to upgrade 320th Street between Hwy. 61 and River Road to take some of the traffic off the scenic byway. Hull said there’s demonstration of possible funding for that project, so he included it out five years in 2031 for illustrative purposes.
Hull outlined 13 projects in 2027 totaling $10.7 million. The largest project is on County Road W62 where the roadway would get an HMA, or hot mix asphalt resurfacing.
HMA is a pavement rehabilitation process involving milling 2–3 inches of old asphalt and applying a new, hot-mixed layer of stone, sand, and asphalt. W62 runs from Croton to Mooar and the project carries a price tag of close to $5 million with $3.4 million coming from farm-to-market funds and the rest from a surface transportation safety grant. Other large projects in 2027 planned include the Chalkridge bridge replacement at $1.05M with funds from Competitive Highway Bridge Replacement funds and Farm-to-Market; Franklin Road replacement at $1.05 million with funds from CHBR and Farm-to-Market; and 190th Street rehabilitation at $800,000 from Farm-to-Market.
Out of the total $10.7 million, $788,000 will come from local funds.
The largest project of the eight in 2028 would be resurfacing 180th Street, including a Hwy. 61 turn lane improvement at $5.4 million, all projected to be funded with local funds. Total project costs for 2028 are $7.2 million.
In 2029, six projects were listed with the largest being the regrading of 255th St (J62) at $3.4 million and 160th Street (J40) resurfacing at $4 million. Projects that year total $9.6 million, with $624,000 coming from local coffers.
In 2030 projects total $12.7 million with 255th Street paving following the grading in 2029 at $4 million. ChalkRidge Road grading at a cost of $2.8 million, both of which are farm-to-market fund supported. And J72 HMA resurfacing at $2.7 million, also farm-to-market funded.
The final year of the plan includes just over $7 million, including 340th Street grading at $2.8 million and ChalkRidge paving at $3.4 million.
The five year plan in total amounts to just over $48 million with $29.3 million being paid for with farm-to-market funds, $3.3 million from surface transportation block grant, $6.65 million from the federal Highway Bridge Program, and $9.6 million in local contributions.