Jasper County secures grant to extend pavement near Co-Line

Jasper County approved a state grant and a professional services agreement last week to extend the existing Portland cement concrete (PCC) paving on South 128th Avenue East — also known as Cordova Avenue — near Co-Line Manufacturing, which is a project shared with the nearby Mahaska County.

County Engineer Michael Frietsch said Jasper County’s application for the Revitalize Iowa’s Sound Economy (RISE) grant was approved by the Iowa Department of Transportation in November 2024. The grant will pay for half of the project, leaving the other half to be matched by the county.

However, because of the project’s proximity to Mahaska County, the county is going to be splitting costs for its portion. Frietsch said he is going to draft a memorandum of understanding with Mahaska County to officially share the costs. He estimated the total project cost to be around $300,000.

“You’re talking $150,000 will probably be covered by the grant, so $150,000 will be split between the counties,” Frietsch said to supervisors at their March 11 meeting. “So I figure our share is going to be about $75,000 give or take. So a little bit less than what we were originally anticipating at least.”

Frietsch noted IDOT reached out to him and said the grant agreement would allow the county to extend the pavement to 600 feet to where the vertical curvature ties back into the existing road. The county first began pursuing this project back in October 2024, and it ties into Co-Line’s $4.2 million expansion.

In conjunction with the RISE grant agreement, the board of supervisors also approved a professional services agreement with Garden and Associates LTD to complete the final design of the extension. Frietsch said the county is in a position to return the final design by May and let the project in June.

The professional services agreement cost $15,000.