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Council approves multiple road appropriations; highway office outlines smaller bond plan
Summary
The Johnson County Council approved several additional appropriations and new line items for upcoming road and bridge work, and Highway Supervisor Luke Maston said staff plan a smaller, staggered bond package later this year to begin key projects.
The Johnson County Council on June 9 approved a set of highway-related additional appropriations and new fund line items to move a slate of road and bridge projects into right-of-way acquisition, design and construction.
Luke Maston, Highway Supervisor, summarized multiple items including the Bridal 98 construction-inspection local share, Bridal 85 right-of-way acquisition, two Clark School Road bridge replacements being designed together, Bridal 56 environmental documentation, and a Local Road & Street Fund application tied to a Community Crossings grant for deep milling and paving in White River Township.
Maston told the council the Bridal 98 work will require road closures on 700 East between Upper Shelbyville Road (100 North) and 350 North in the town of Needham. For the Bridal 85 project, the bulk of the appropriation is for right-of-way acquisition; other items included final right-of-way closings and inspection contracts for the Morgantown intersection project at SR 144.
The council also approved creation of a new service/software line item in the county highway budget to track subscription-based services for crash-data reporting, permitting and online payments, and traffic/speed-count data that may be shared with the sheriff's office. Maston said these services are subscription-based and will be budgeted into 2026 as recurring items.
On bonding, Maston said staff advised waiting until the effects of Senate Bill 1 were clear but plan to pursue a smaller, staggered bond package before year-end rather than a single large bond. He said the bond will require collateral tied to other public improvements and that staff are compiling valuations of county roads and bridges to support the collateral requirement.
The council approved each highway item by individual motions during the consent and regular agenda. Projects funded in part by state or federal grants will use separate reimbursement fund line items to track those receipts, a State Board of Accounts practice the county now follows to improve reimbursement tracking.
Maston and council members discussed timing and coordination with municipalities: the SR 144/Morgantown intersection is being constructed this summer under an interlocal agreement with the Town of Barkersville; Maston confirmed Barkersville will provide the town share of costs under the agreement and the county is managing contracting and closings.
Council members thanked Maston for breaking the highway items down and approved the appropriations and related motions by voice vote or roll call as listed in the agenda packet.
