Public hearings set to reclassify portion of Indian Street to Level B road

Three public hearing dates were set by the Jasper County Board of Supervisors to reclassify Indian Street as an Area Service System B road. Public hearings will be held during the regularly scheduled board meeting at 9:30 a.m. Jan. 14, 21 and 28 in the board of supervisors room of the Jasper County Courthouse.

According to descriptions included in the supervisors agenda, the affected portion of Indian Street is 0.8 miles south of North 67th Avenue East then east-southeast approximately 0.56 miles to Immigrant Avenue. County Engineer Michael Frietsch said the section includes a bridge over Alloway Creek.

“We are in the process right now of removing that bridge out. No plans at this time to replace that bridge, but we would like to get that chunk of road reclassified to Level B there,” Frietsch said, noting the nearby landowners will be notified that the public hearings will be taking place. One landowner already reached out.

Although the county engineer did not identify the man, he said the landowner believes the county is obligated to replace the bridge. Frietsch told him no because there is access on both ends to the road. Supervisor Brandon Talsma asked Frietsch if he had spoken with other landowners on the road.

“I’ve had one conversation,” Frietsch said. “What I’ll do as part of this public hearing is I’ll put a letter together and I will send a letter out by certified mail, as required by code, to each of these landowners along that potential Level B and I will let them know what date this public hearing is going to be on.”

For years the road has been treated as a Level B. Frietsch said the road has not really been taken care of at all because it is “nothing but just farm fields.”

The road is located northwest of Kellogg and southeast of Mariposa Park.

According the county’s ordinances, Area Service System A roads — which Indian Street is currently classified as — are to be maintained in conformance with applicable state statutes, but Area Service System B roads do not meet those same maintenance standards.

Only the minimum effort, expenses and attention are provided to Area Service System B, or Level B, roads. This means blading on the roads will not be performed on a regular basis, shoulders will not be maintained and snow and ice will not be removed nor will road surfaces be sanded or salted.

It also means structures like bridges and culverts may not be maintained to carry legal loads. But “upon failure or loss,” a replacement structure is “appropriate” for traffic. However, the ordinance language does not say it is necessary to replace a bridge on a Level B road or that the county is obligated to replace it.