Highway 144 from Grand Junction to the north county line may become a county road.
County engineer Wade Weiss told the board of supervisors Monday that the Iowa Department of Transportation is interested in transferring jurisdiction for the 12 miles of roadway. Weiss said the road is “not in the greatest shape,” and that the DOT plans to do culvert work in that stretch.
The 12 miles of added roadway represent 6 percent of the county road system and includes two bridges.
Weiss explained that the DOT generally negotiates a financial incentive when it transfers jurisdiction, and that he would hope to negotiate enough money to bring the road into good condition. “We don’t have one-tenth of the money to maintain the system we have,” Weiss said, but added that “if it’s something that benefits the public, it’s good.”
He said many travelers pay little heed to whether it’s a state or county road they’re traveling on, and that the county has plowed Highway 144 and Highway 4 in extreme conditions when public safety was more important than jurisdiction.
It was consensus of the supervisors to being the conversation with the DOT about a transfer of jurisdiction.
Greene County has approximately 200 miles of paved roads, 950 miles of gravel roads and 150 bridges more than 20 feet in length.
