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County amends five-year road program to add two bridges for federal grant eligibility
Summary
Woodbury County amended its five-year Secondary Roads construction program to add two bridges near Bronson that qualify for an Iowa DOT federal bridge funding opportunity; the county expects the bridges could be built in 2027.
The Woodbury County Board of Supervisors approved an amendment to the county's Secondary Roads five-year construction program to add two bridges so they can compete for additional federal bridge funding offered through the Iowa Department of Transportation.
Laura Severs of the Secondary Roads Department told supervisors that Iowa had been notified as one of four states eligible for $65 million in additional bridge funding. The funding eligibility required bridges to be federal bridges rated poor, have significant traffic, be standard-type bridges under 250 feet, and meet other criteria. Woodbury County identified roughly 20 candidate bridges and requested funding for 18; two bridges were initially excluded because they had been recently built.
Severs said the county ultimately qualified two additional structures near Bronson on D25 for the program and asked that they be added to the five-year program so they become grant-eligible. "So, what I'm asking you is to ... allow them into our program because when you can get free $2,000,000 I say let's do it," Severs told the board, describing the potential federal share for each bridge.
Supervisors approved the amendment 5-0. Severs said the bridges would likely be constructed in 2027 if grant awards are secured and that additional board actions or agreements may be requested as the projects move forward.
The county reported that it has 88 bridges rated poor; pursuing federal grants allows Woodbury County to leverage external funds for major bridge replacements rather than relying solely on local dollars.
Secondary Roads staff will pursue the Iowa DOT grant applications and return to the board with any required agreements or matching-fund requests.
