Steep embankment slopes to be fixed for Neal Smith road project

Supervisors this past week approved a supplemental agreement for the first phase of the road stabilization project near Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, which would ultimately add more soil material to fix embankment slopes that Jasper County Engineer Michael Frietsch said were not up to standards.

“We realized we had some embankment slopes that were too steep for meeting clear zone requirements … We needed 10,000 yards of soil material for fixing those embankment slopes out there,” he said. “We identified one borrow area out there that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife would give us about half of what we needed.”

The rest of the soil work would be furnished by a contractor. Frietsch said it helps the county meet requirements. In order to get the borrow site ready to go, the county needed to incur additional services with Snyder & Associates for environmental screening and additional temporary easement work.

Altogether, the extra work will cost the county $15,000 and be paid for using farm-to-market money. Frietsch said the funding stream is healthy and will go towards the design of the project. He told supervisors he hopes they are getting closer to getting the stabilization work started, but it is a “painful” process.

“We’re still trying to get through environmental clearances on this,” he said. “…I did speak with U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service about their temporary construction easements, and what I think is going to end up happening is we’re going to do a special use permit or something of that nature instead of temporary easements.”

From what he learned from federal agencies, it could take up to two years to process temporary easements.

Newton News reported earlier this month about the road stabilization project and its acquisition of more than $2.27 million in federal funds to go towards the multi-phase project. The roads that would be affected lead directly to the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, providing better access to the facility.

The first phase will stabilize West 129th Street South from Iowa Highway 163 to South 96th Avenue West, and then South 96th Avenue West from West 129th Street South and all the way through. Frietsch said the roads would be stabilized with cement and two layers of otta seal.

Frietsch had mentioned the steep embankment slopes earlier this month and that crews would flatten those along that specific corridor. The second phase of the project — from South 102nd Avenue West to the maintenance road, and West 129th Street South to South 102nd Avenue West — will come later.

Subsequent phases are anticipated to be more expensive. Frietsch noted when the county received its grant a few years ago it was before prices skyrocketed.

“What we thought we could do with $2 million to $3 million, now you need almost $6 million,” Frietsch said. “So we’re going to have to have a conversation with them after the first phase. But this funding agreement will at least allow us to go ahead and proceed on that first phase and get that first phase done.”