Wapello County approves five-year roads program, schedules multiple bridge and resurfacing projects

Wapello County supervisors approved a five‑year secondary roads program and signed off on construction plans for several bridge and roadway projects, including a bridge on Hundred and Eightieth Street over Little Soap Creek.

County Engineer Brad said consultants Callan Burns prepared the plans for the Hundred and Eightieth Street bridge and the project is planned for an August letting, with the earliest contractor start probably in October and flexibility for winter work to secure better bids. The board formally approved the plan submission and the project proceeding to letting.

The five‑year program covers multiple projects across the county, including reconstruction of the old U.S. 34 alignment west of Ottumwa and a multi‑stage project that staff described as beginning this summer. That work will include culvert replacements and extensions, repaving, replacement of several county bridges and creation of a new access tie into Highway 34 near Buckeye Terminal. Brad said some culverts in poor condition will be replaced; structurally stable but leaking culverts will receive liners.

County staff said the project near U.S. 34 depends on final comments and approval from the Iowa Department of Transportation on an intersection report. The DOT is also evaluating corridor improvements such as a possible westbound right‑turn lane and an eastbound left‑turn lane, though traffic volumes currently “don’t quite justify” some turn lanes; the county will allow design accommodations for DOT corridor work.

Supervisors approved the fiscal‑year 2026 secondary roads budget, which county staff described as a mirror of material previously reviewed by the auditor and preliminarily approved by the DOT. The board also approved a resolution correcting technical project‑number issues in the county’s five‑year program submission to the DOT so the plan can be formally accepted.

The board approved a funding agreement with the DOT tied to Bridge 124, which staff said is the same Hundred and Eightieth Street bridge; preliminary eligible costs were estimated in line with a roughly $750,000 funding amount and the DOT will fund a percentage of eligible costs.

What’s next: staff will await the formal DOT sign‑off on the intersection report before finalizing plans for the U.S. 34 corridor project and proceed with plan letting for the bridge project. A project map is available from the county for those seeking details.

More technical details and budget line items were discussed during the meeting but were not specified in the public record.