Madison County roads update: Cummings Road resurfacing, Pitzer bridge replacement and an equipment pickup to save $4,500

Madison County—fs Secretary of Roads, Mike Hackett, told supervisors the department is moving several construction projects into the work phase and gave estimated scopes, timelines and local funding sources.

Hackett said the Cummings Road resurfacing project is roughly nine miles and described resurfacing work as patching, guardrail enhancements and repaving; he said the work is "expected to take about 3 and a half months" once construction begins and said roughly "$4,000,000 a mile" was the approximate per-mile resurfacing figure for that project. He also described a joint safety-improvement project involving Adair, Madison, Guthrie and Dallas counties and said Madison County—fs share is around $465,000 paid from Farm-to-Market funds.

On bridges, Hackett briefed the board on the Pitzer bridge replacement, describing it as funded through the state bridge replacement program and federal bridge dollars with an estimated cost near $1,690,000 and a typical 10-to-12-month schedule depending on weather and contractor availability. He warned that detours will be marked and that drivers frequently choose alternate routes.

The board approved a resolution authorizing county pickup and delivery of a MOWVAC vibratory pile-driver attachment to save approximately $4,500 in shipping; Hackett said two county employees will drive to collect the unit and no overtime is expected. The equipment is intended to help with piling and certain bridge repairs where crews need specialized tools.

The roads department also encouraged residents to sign up for county road-closure notifications via Iowa511 or the county website; Hackett noted staff constraints make advance notification for small maintenance items difficult.

Next steps: the roads department will post notices to landowners and the county will proceed with scheduled closures, detours and construction timelines as contractors and weather permit.