County aims for major road project grant
/Safe Streets for All
County Road L51will be the subject of a major improvement project if Crawford County lands a $10.3 million federal grant. Photo by Dan Mundt
Crawford County is pursuing a major grant to rework 22 miles of county pavement, according to County Engineer Paul Assman.
County Road L51, from E16 through Ricketts to Charter Oak, and south all the way to Highway 37 just north of Dunlap, will be the subject of a major improvement project if the funds are received.
Assman is working toward submitting an application for a Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant.
“Of the criteria for selection, number one is safety,” Assman said. “We’ve identified safety issues on the segments of roadways we are looking at submitting the application for – they’re identified in what’s called a local road safety plan (LRSP).”
The Secondary Road Department developed an LRSP in 2018 and completed an update earlier this year.
“It identifies roadway segments that score high in terms of crash history, geometry, and traffic volume,” he said. “They rank high in terms of needing safety improvements.”
Most of the roads identified in the LRSP are older paved roads that are 20 feet wide and traverse rolling hills.
County Road E16 west of Schleswig, Donna Reed Road and County Road E59 from Dow City to Highway 59 were identified; widening/resurfacing projects have already taken place on those roads.
Projects on those roads included adding paved shoulders, shoulder and centerline rumble strips, a safety edge, increased lane widths and enhanced signage.
“We’ve been picking these off and we’ve implemented a lot of the items in the local road safety plan,” Assman said.
“We’re proposing to go in and pave the shoulders, put in rumble strips, pave a safety edge on the edge of the pavement, and create lane widths of 11 feet,” he said.
“We feel it’s a good project because it’s been identified in the road safety plan, we’ve been implementing those things identified there, and we have a history of doing it on our own. We think it fits well with the major criteria, which is about addressing safety.”
Assman said the project is also a good fit for SS4A grant criteria concerning how a project would address inclusion and diversity.
“That area is in a census tract that’s identified as an area of persistent poverty –there are not a lot of those in the state of Iowa,” he said. “Most of the roadway area we’re applying for is identified in the safety plan but it’s also in an area that is socially disadvantaged: rural population, aged population, and in an area of persistent poverty according to the census tract data.”
Assman said SS4A grants are also intended for use in diverse population areas such as Denison.
“The hub of economic activity and the jobs here are in Denison, and this (the L51 project) is an important part of safety for people commuting to and from their place of business,” he said.
Effective practices and strategies make up the third area of concern in the SS4A grant criteria.
“We check all the boxes: safety issues, area of persistent poverty, proven record of effective practices,” Assman said. “And it’s in line with the strategic goals of the DOT – which is zero fatalities.”
The county has hired engineering consultant firm Kimley-Horn for about $20,000 to help develop the grant application.
“I think it’s money well spent because they know at that federal level all the t’s that have to be crossed and the i’s that have to be dotted,” he said. “I don’t want to have a misstep. I’m working with them very closely about how we’re drafting the narrative.”
He noted that a lot of the grant application work is still being done in-house at his department.
“We worked throughout the winter,” he said. “The roadway plans are done and we’re shovel-ready.”
The total estimated cost of the project is $12,931,000; the county will ask for $10,345,000 of SS4A grant funds, which are federal dollars.
The project could also be eligible for a Transportation Safety Improvement Program (TSIP) grant; each of the previous road projects listed above received TSIP funds of about $500,000.
The balance of funds for the L51 project would come from the county.
Assman is working with Kimley-Horn to wrap up the application-writing process in the next two weeks; applications are due by July 10.
If the county receives the grant, the L51 project would likely be put on the calendar for the 2025 road construction season.
“This would be huge for us,” Assman said.
Follow us on Facebook for the latest news and updates
