The Highway 30 overpass at Grand Junction is on schedule to be completed by Nov. 10, according to Jenny Hoskins, Iowa Department of Transportation resident construction engineer in Jefferson.
Godbersen-Smith Construction of Ida Grove is general contractor for the project. The company missed the April 3 start date for the overpass as the same crews were also working on the bridge over the Raccoon River on County Road N-65 for Greene County. There was concern at that time the overpass wouldn’t be complete until winter.
Hoskins said Tuesday Godbersen-Smith is motivated to earn a contract bonus for completion by Nov. 10 and has four crews working on the overpass. Setting beams and work on the bridge deck should begin next week.
“They’re definitely moving along and working to get the job finished,” she said.
The dry weather that is challenging farmers has been an advantage for bridge construction. Still, the crew moving dirt to reshape the slopes up to the roadway are needing to dry the borrow dirt, Halterman said.
Approximately 3,000 vehicles a day travel on Highway 30 past Grand Junction. About 1,000 are using the posted detour using Highways 169 and 144 and County Road E-18 through Dana. Another 2,000 are using “unofficial” detours on 217th St north of Grand Junction and on 230th St or 240th St south of Grand Junction. The county secondary roads crew has spent countless hours maintaining those gravel roads to keep them safe and limit the dust. The DOT will reimburse the county for material used but not for labor.
