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Wright County approves $9.8M secondary-roads budget and five-year construction program
Summary
The Wright County Board of Supervisors approved the FY2027 secondary-roads budget and a five-year construction program that schedules multiple federally funded bridge replacements and local bridge work, and discussed near-term paving and pipe orders.
The Wright County Board of Supervisors on April 6 approved the county’s FY2027 Iowa DOT secondary-roads budget and a color-coded five-year construction program outlining bridge and paving projects across the county.
County Engineer Adam Clemens presented the budget and program, saying projected receipts including carryover total about $9.8 million and net expenditures are about $9.392 million. Clemens told the board the plan includes federally funded bridge projects — 155A at about $950,000 and bridge 109 at roughly $420,000 — and a previously planned $600,000 allocation for bridge 175 that remains in FY26 funding. He also identified a $2.775 million FM (federal) project for R38 north and other multi-year paving projects.
Why it matters: the program schedules multi-year federal-aid and locally funded bridge work and a series of paving projects meant to spread costs over multiple fiscal years while preserving a conservative estimated carryover. Clemens said the county expects reimbursement for federal-aid projects after initial payment and that local bridge replacements will use a mix of purchased pipe stockpiled for summer work.
Board actions and local impacts: Supervisors approved the secondary-roads budget and the five-year construction program by motion and second. Clemens described operational details the board flagged for later follow-up, including stockpiling rock in Belmont to reduce haul time, ordering several large-diameter culverts for local bridges, and training staff on hydroseeding techniques to reduce contractor costs. He estimated construction-season workloads and noted several local bridges will be replaced by county crews during August to reduce contractor costs.
Budget detail: Clemens listed receipts from property tax ($2.52 million in rural basic), road-use allocations, bridge replacement funds (approximately $1.97 million for next-year projects), trip and permit revenues, and a $1.1 million auditor fund balance. Expenditures in the plan include construction ($1.98 million), roadway maintenance ($3.5 million) and equipment operations ($2.15 million).
Next steps: the board signed the plan and asked staff to publish the final documents and update the county website. Clemens said actual schedules will depend on contractor availability and state reimbursements.
Quote: "We make them the same so I don’t have to worry about one going over the other," County Engineer Adam Clemens said of the county and secondary-roads budgets.
The board’s approval lets staff proceed with purchases and planning identified in the five-year program; staff said they will return with specific contract and scheduling details before work begins.
