Jackson County approves funding agreement and DOT application for Bellevue (Z 15) bridge

The Jackson County Board of Supervisors on Feb. 18 approved a county funding agreement for the Bellevue 2555 Bridge (Z 15) at 360 Second Avenue and authorized a 28E agreement and a resolution supporting an application to the Iowa Department of Transportation’s competitive highway bridge program.

County staff presented the bridge funding agreement and said the document follows the DOT’s standard language and identifies the local source of funds. “So just standard verbiage of where the funds are coming from, which is our VR account,” the county staff member said, and recommended approval so the agreement can be sent to Letty at the DOT.

The board also approved a 28E agreement to allow Jackson County to be part of the DOT’s application for the competitive highway bridge program and passed a resolution (listed in the record as Resolution 1098-02-18-2025) to provide a formal letter of support for the application. County staff told the board the program would shift an eligible bridge from the county’s day-labor five-year program into a DOT-led contract if the application is successful; that change would deliver a slab bridge rather than a day-labor-style bridge.

A county staff member cautioned that an award was not guaranteed: “They can’t say it’s a guarantee, but for the most part, said it’s a guarantee because they’ll have bridges in this application too,” the presenter said. The staff member said the grant typically requires a local match and noted the common split is about 80/20, but the final match percentage remained to be determined.

Motions: the board recorded a motion to approve the funding agreement for the Bellevue 2555 Bridge (Z 15), moved by Ninn and seconded by Mike; a separate motion to approve the 28E agreement with the Iowa DOT was moved by Mike and seconded by Ninh; and a motion to approve the resolution and letter of support for the competitive highway bridge program was moved and seconded on the record. Each motion was announced as carried after members voted “Aye.” The record shows the board took all three actions during the Feb. 18 meeting.

Why it matters: If the DOT application is awarded, Jackson County expects the project to be let as a DOT contract rather than completed by county forces, which staff said would yield a different bridge type without substantially increasing local spending because the grant covers a portion of the cost. The board also authorized staff to submit the application materials and to deliver a formal letter of support to the DOT.

The DOT application and the county funding agreement will proceed to the DOT and to Letty as the county’s contact for further processing, the county staff member said. No final award decision had been made at the time of the meeting.