Thorius installed as Secretary-Treasurer of NACE, recognized with National Award

Posted 5/17/23

Washington County Engineer Jacob Thorius was installed as the 2023-2024 Secretary-Treasurer of the National Association of County Engineers (NACE) at their recent annual meeting and technical …

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Thorius installed as Secretary-Treasurer of NACE, recognized with National Award

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Washington County Engineer Jacob Thorius was installed as the 2023-2024 Secretary-Treasurer of the National Association of County Engineers (NACE) at their recent annual meeting and technical conference. Thorius’ term will run through April of 2024. Additionally, Thorius was recognized as NACE’s 2022 Rural County Engineer of the Year. 

One of only four awards bestowed by NACE, Thorius was recognized for his work to reshape and stabilize gravel roads in Washington County, for overseeing the improvement of over 175 miles of gravel roads, while improving nearly 54 miles of paved roads. Thorius has secured over $2.7 million in State safety funds and grant funds for various road projects. 

NACE is a nonprofit, nonpartisan professional association in its 67th year, representing over 3,000 county road officials and related professionals in the U.S. and Canada. In the U.S., local roads account for about 75% of highways and roads, or 2.93 million miles. Counties manage 1.74 million miles of those roads and 231,000 bridges. 

“I am honored to serve the nation’s county road professionals,” said Thorius. “I look forward to working with my colleagues across the country as we engage Congress and the administration to ensure county transportation infrastructure continues to be addressed within federal policy. Our national economy depends on a sound and safe infrastructure network, with counties owning and operating more of those miles than any other government entity.” 

Furthermore, Thorius stated, “I am also honored to have received the award of Rural County Engineer of the Year. This award is a result of hard work from my staff, the support of the Board of Supervisors, and my family; without them I would not be able to experience the success in my career that I have had.” 

Thorius has served as Washington County Engineer since January of 2012. He is also involved with the Iowa County Engineers Association, serving on their Executive Board, safety committees and as a member of the Iowa Highway Research Board. Since 2019, he has served as NACE’s South-Central Region Vice-President. Thorius has also serves on the Advisory Board for the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Iowa.