Story County trustees approve IDOT plan to widen I‑35 through two drainage districts

Story County Drainage District Trustees on May 5 unanimously approved requests from the Iowa Department of Transportation to widen Interstate 35 from two lanes to three lanes in each direction where the project crosses two county drainage districts.

The trustees — Chair Linda Murken and Trustees Latifah Faisal and Lisa Heddens — voted to approve IDOT’s plan for Drainage District Grant #13 and for Drainage District Skunk River #103 after hearing details from Drainage Clerk Scott T. Wall. Heddens moved to approve the Grant #13 request, Faisal seconded, and the motion carried unanimously; the trustees later approved the Skunk River #103 request by the same margin.

Wall told the trustees he had received engineering plans showing the widening beginning north of the Skunk River (where the interstate already has additional lanes) and extending to a point north of U.S. Highway 30. He said the open drainage ditch that serves Grant #13 runs along the I‑35 right‑of‑way for about three‑quarters of a mile and then parallels the interstate again before emptying into the Skunk River. "The IDOT does not intend to impact the drainage ditch," Wall said, adding that erosion controls will be required where work sits immediately outside the right‑of‑way.

Trustee Latifah Faisal asked who would ensure the widening does not affect the Grant #13 ditch, citing prior IDOT work that prompted complaints. Wall said he expected the Story County Engineer’s Office to have ultimate authority over county drainage facilities and reported County Engineer Darren Moon had reviewed the plans and raised no objections. Wall also said prior complaints from a former landowner’s farm management company were reviewed by the county and the IDOT and were found to lack merit.

Murken asked how far north the widening would extend. Wall said the plans show work covering the northern on‑ and off‑ramps for Highway 30 and tapering back to existing lanes "as quickly as practical," placing the end of the widening between the northern I‑35 ramps and the Lincoln Highway overpass. He noted the county’s drainage districts do not extend north of Highway 30.

On Skunk River #103, Wall said the Skunk River itself — which was straightened by the Army Corps of Engineers around 1900 — is the district’s primary facility and that the planned widening would occur a significant distance from the river. He said IDOT will install erosion and runoff controls during construction. The trustees approved the request for Skunk River #103 with a unanimous vote.

The meeting opened at 9:30 a.m. and adjourned at 9:36 a.m. There was no public comment recorded and no further conditions attached to the trustees’ approvals in the meeting minutes.