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County engineer details spring road work, embargoes and Secondary Roads headquarters timeline
Summary
County Engineer Brad Kettlesman told the Linn County Board of Supervisors on April 8 that crews are focused on spring maintenance for gravel roads, an increase in temporary embargoes to protect road investments, and continued construction of the new Secondary Roads headquarters with a tentative May 2026 move-in target.
Brad Kettlesman, county engineer for Linn County, told the Board of Supervisors on April 8 that the county is in a busy spring maintenance mode focused on rock roads, temporary embargoes and several construction projects. He said the department plans about 82 miles of rock overlays this year and that crews are responding to unusually active spring conditions.
Kettlesman said the county has imposed more embargoes than in a typical year to protect vulnerable roads from heavy loads until frost and moisture conditions improve. "We're trying to protect our investment in these roads," he said, describing embargoes as temporary restrictions used to keep heavy loads off roads that would otherwise sustain costly damage.
Kettlesman provided a brief budget overview for the department: a remaining county budget balance of about $10,000,000 with roughly $7,500,000 in obligations, which he described as leaving an estimated $2,500,000 likely to be spent before the fiscal year ends. He said the department's target is to hold roughly $3,000,000 in unencumbered cash to cover payroll and early fiscal-year expenses.
On the Secondary Roads headquarters, Kettlesman said paid-to-date construction costs are about $2,300,000 with a contract roughly in the mid-teens of millions ("around 16-ish million," he said). The project team continues to make progress despite weather delays, and Kettlesman said the move-in goal remains May 2026, although he characterized that date as not guaranteed.
Kettlesman also described a persistent vacancy for a design technician that has been open about two years. He said the county has posted the position multiple times, that hiring challenges appear related to qualifications and pay, and that the department has been managing workloads with temporary summer hires and two college interns for survey staff.
The engineer reviewed planned and recent construction lettings, grant applications and staff training, and noted collaboration efforts with the City of Cedar Rapids on projects that cross jurisdictions. He said staff will meet with Cedar Rapids roughly twice a year to align priorities on shared projects.
Kettlesman closed by summarizing routine maintenance timing: crews will prioritize getting rock roads back in shape, then proceed to rock overlay operations that typically last two to three weeks in each area. He noted material cost tracking is updated daily once hauling begins.
Quotes in this article are from Brad Kettlesman and members of the Board during the department update.
