Newton mayor will not veto $4.2M Union Drive reconstruction

One week after suggesting he may veto the more than $4.2 million reconstruction of Union Drive, Newton Mayor Mike Hansen decided against it.

“After careful consideration and analysis of all the information I received from several sources over the last week, I signed the Union Drive road project resolution this morning. The project will move forward,” Hansen told Newton News on June 13.

Several city officials and residents say the reconstruction to Union Drive is “much needed” and “way overdue.” The June 6 city council meeting led to the project’s approval, but Hansen disagreed with the submitted bid price and initially encouraged fellow elected officials to consider re-bidding the project.

Hansen suggested he might veto the action, pending further information. Engineers estimated the construction costs of the Union Drive project to be almost $3.4 million. Hansen called the 33 percent increase in total cost “horrendous.” The $4.2 million contract was awarded in a 4-1 vote.

Skylar Smith, a resident who lives near Union Drive, said everyone knows the condition of the road, calling it dangerous. If the city waits any longer, it is going to get more expensive, he said. Tracy Kleinschrodt lives across the street from the nearby Union Cemetery, and she, too, said it is a “much-needed” project.

“My drive washes out and down the road, and the mail truck can’t get a long our curve because it’s all washed out and gets stuck in it. So there are times we don’t get our mail,” Kleinschrodt said. “Speeders, they go flying by 45-55 mph. Maybe need something to slow them down.”

If anyone has driven down the street lately should notice the bumps, Kleinschrodt added. John Payne said the road is way overdue and suggested a reconstruction project years ago got passed over for a road near “the Iowa Speedway area.” Hansen later told Payne that was false information.

“But it’s way overdue,” Payne said. “It needs to be passed.”

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com