On more than one occasion, Jackson County Supervisor Chairman Mike Steines has said that although Jackson County is beautiful and he appreciates the value rivers bring to the area, it costs money to maintain all the bridges.
So, Jackson County Engineer Todd Kinney brought good news to the supervisors when he reported that the county had received a $2 million grant from the Iowa Department of Transportation to help replace one of those bridges.
The Chenelworth Bridge spans the South Fork of the Maquoketa River on 82nd Avenue. Assistant Engineer Jayden Scheckel said the bridge is over 50 years old and will require an alternate feasibility study because of its age and design.
After reviewing proposals with Scheckel, the supervisors awarded a contract to Origin Design of Dubuque to design a new Chenelworth Bridge.
The dollar amount of the bid will depend on what information is found in the initial assessment and which final design is chosen but will end up costing the county between 100,000 to $125,000 thanks to the grant.
In other county news:
• Maquoketa City Manager Josh Boldt brought samples of the product which will be produced by the Quality Flow Environmental LLC (QFE) manufacturing facility. The Illinois-based QFE last month announced plans to build a new facility in the industrial park south of Maquoketa which will process dried fertilizer into organic materials.
The company chose this location because it is in the middle of the Prairie Farms supply chain area, which is where QFE gathers dried fertilizer from dairy farms.
Boldt said the company has signed a purchase agreement for 5.5 acres and plans to build a 50,000 square foot building.
He also said the company has an air quality certification they must meet. Boldt wanted to spread the word that the product does not have an odor and should not create unpleasant odors in Maquoketa.
Boldt offered the organic fertilizer and biochar product samples to supervisors, who said the samples smelled likedirt, a hay barn, cattle feed, and “nothing.”