The Cass County Board of Supervisors have approved a Pre-construction Agreement with the Iowa Department of Transportation, for the replacement of a bridge deck over Interstate 80 at the Marne Exit. County Engineer Charles Marker explained the DOT had planned to begin the project last summer, but another project took priority. The Project on M-56 north of Marne was put on hold for a nearby project. The original agreement for that project was nullified. The DOT has now requested basically the same agreement be signed by the Board, with construction slated to begin this summer.

Marker said the County’s role in the agreement, is simply to establish detour routes. He said since M-56 is a numbered route, the detour must be on another numbered route that will enable traffic to reach the interstate. If some of the local residents use an alternate road, and that road is gravel, the DOT will pay for dust control if the traffic flow is heavy enough to warrant it.

Marker said the project involves the replacement of the bridge deck over I-80 and the temporary use of head-to-head traffic lanes underneath the bridge. He said they’ll break out the current concrete deck and place a new deck on the substructure. Traffic underneath will be routed to the north or south lanes depending on which side of the bridge is being worked on at the time.

The Board also passed a Resolution to Encourage the Implementation of the 2011 Citizen’s Advisory Council (CAC), with regard to a one-percent increase in the state fuel tax rate, from 5-to 6-percent. Marker said a proposal to raise the gas tax has been in the works for many years, beginning with a study commissioned by Governor Culver and most recently by Governor Branstad. Each time it was recommended the tax be raised to help pay for road repairs and maintenance.

Marker said the tax has not been increased since 1989. A poll shows a vast majority of the traveling public feel the State’s roads are inadequate. The Resolution calls for a phased-in 10-cent increase in the gas tax over a period of three-years, as well as an increase in vehicle registration fees. Based on the way the funds are allocated, it is distributed to cities, counties and the state, and is intended only for road repairs and maintenance.