As winter approaches the Washington County Engineer’s Office and Secondary Roads Department looks back at projects that were completed in 2021.

County Engineer Jacob Thorius says he and his staff were kept busy during the summer and fall with 10 contracted road projects  totaling $7.45 million in repairs. Projects that wrapped up from previous years included culvert extensions on Old White Way and Vine Avenue. Three bridge replacements took place west and east of Wellman on Elm Avenue and 130th Street. A number of paving projects occurred including the central portion of Riverside Road, which has seeding to be finished next spring.The county worked in conjunction with the Iowa Department of Transportation for intersection repairs along Highway 22. Thorius says that members of his staff performed other projects and maintenance on their own and that he is proud of the work that was accomplished, “Shoutout to my guys. They do good work, they don’t always get the credit that they deserve. They’re working hard out there all the time for the county trying to make improvements, so I appreciate their work.”

Thorius added that his team stabilized around five miles of gravel roads, regraded and shaped about 10 miles of roads, flattened slopes along Vine Avenue to improve driving safety and crack sealing and patching projects. He doesn’t anticipate projects during the winter season to have a heavy impact on the public. Projects for the spring include a bridge replacement on Juniper Avenue just east of Brighton, an overlay project on Lexington Boulevard and West 5th Street in Washington, completing two miles of shoulder paving along Wayland Road and grading on 230th Street northwest of Washington, 190th Street east of Vine Avenue and Dogwood Avenue north of McKain’s Bridge.