The Greene County supervisors at their July 29 meeting approved a resolution awarding the contract for replacing the Grimmell Rd bridge over the North Raccoon River to Godbersen-Smith Construction Co of Ida Grove.
Five bids were received for the project, all of them below the engineer’s estimate of $2,900,500 for the project. Godbersen’s bid was $2,088,602.
County engineer Wade Weiss told the supervisors a pre-construction meeting would be held soon, as “the contractors are really ready to be going.”
Power lines have been moved away from the bridge and some site preparation work has already been done. “We’re ready for them to come in,” Weiss said.
One remaining task before construction begins is to move mussels in the river upstream. The work will be done by a contractor already approved by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
The public will be alerted when the current bridge will close. It will be closed for several months, including during harvest.
The project is shared with the city of Jefferson, as it is within the city limits. Jefferson city administrator Scott Peterson attended the supervisors’ meeting and thanked Weiss and the county for “the great partnership.”
Work on bridges on Apple Ave and Parkland Ave is planned for next year.
Weiss also briefed the supervisors on maintenance plans for the county’s fleet of maintainers, and on his intention to purchase a traffic attenuator to use when county crews are putting gravel on shoulders. The attenuator will be behind a loader with a shouldering attachment and a gravel packer on the shoulder. It will feature a sign alerting motorists of “road work ahead.” Cost is $21,000.
Weiss explained that the attenuator will absorb impact should the loader be struck. “It’s for our employees’ safety and also the motoring public,” Weiss said.
County Road P-46 and County Road E-57 near Rippey are at the top of the list for shoulder work yet this summer, according to Weiss.
