WASHINGTON

It was a busy third quarter in 2023 for Washington County’s secondary roads department which included hauling road rock, 31,622 tons of it, taking trash out of county where one ditch held a television, refrigerator and couch (like a discarded rec room), and a full slate of projects.

In a report presented to the supervisors January 2, Engineer Jacob Thorius reported that plans for the McKain’s landing grading project were finalized and bids were let for the new alignment grading work between the railroad tracks and the Skunk River, to be done this year. Bid letting also was let for the 14th Street grading project and the department finalized plans for the Lexington Blvd. grading project south of Iowa 92 to Highway 216.

More work involved specific construction projects, including plans to pave the G36 shoulders from Highway 1 to Highway 218; options for the Tupelo Bridge work northeast of Riverside; reshaped Elm Avenue from 155th Street to Highway 22. stabilizing it with Permazyme; and reshaped Dogwood Avenue from 210th Street to Highway 22, also stabilized with Permazyme.

Projects were also completed that reshaped 330th Street, east of Brighton and also stabilized the Louisa Washington Road from 205th Street to 175th Street; pulled shoulders and shaped Nutmeg Avenue, north of Richmond; reshaped 260th Street from Airport Road, Washington to Palm Avenue and worked on plans for 190th Street grading southeast of Highland High School.

There also were the numerous regular maintenance jobs such as vegetation management, cold patching roadways, temporary repairs on pavement blowups and several removals of dead deer from roadways. From mid to late summer there were road preparations for fall surface stabilizations and in early August private dust control treatments.

There also were 32 different non-road department vehicle repairs to assist other county departments in maintaining their vehicles. Service and repair costs have totaled about $7,300. The in-house work has proved to be cost saving for the county.

The department, which has 32 staff members, also assisted in the demolition of the Marr Park Shower House in September to be replaced with a new shower house to be completed this spring.

Thorius noted that the staff limited their time off “to ensure we have enough staff to accomplish the work we have planned.”

Most recently that also involves snow removal, full report for which will come in the spring. Depending on how many storms drop high levels of snow, overtime is likely.