LINN COUNTY - Linn County has identified 29 rural road projects scheduled to be completed if the Local Option Sales and Services Tax is approved by rural voters on March 3, 2009. If the tax passes in the unincorporated area, tax revenue for the unincorporated area would fund Linn County’s flood recovery efforts in year one. During years two through five, a minimum of 90 percent of the tax revenue for the unincorporated area would be used for construction and maintenance of secondary roads and bridges; no more than 10 percent would be for conservation maintenance and improvements.

A map of the 29 scheduled projects is available above, in the Related Content section. The projects identified are part of the Secondary Road Department’s five-year construction plan and beyond. The road projects are distributed throughout rural Linn County.

Also, Linn County has received bids and will award contracts for four road projects. The Central City Road project will be awarded to Horsfield Construction, Inc. of Epworth. The other three projects will be awarded to Concrete Foundations, Inc. of New Hampton.

• Central City Road between Sutton Road and Highway 13. This project will complete the hard-surface reconstruction of E16 from Center Point to Central City. It is funded by the Federal Surface Transportation Program.

• Blairs Ferry Road between the Cedar River and Mud Lake Bridges. This project will make final repairs to the area damaged by flooding in June 2008. It is funded with assistance from the Federal Highway Administration’s emergency relief program.

• Lewis Access Road between Lewis Bottoms Road and the Cedar River. The flood eroded a large portion of this road last June. Linn County Secondary Road crews made repairs to restore use after the flood. This project will complete the permanent repairs of the road. It is funded through the Federal Highway Administration’s emergency relief program.

• Springville Road/Martelle Road intersection. This project is designed to improve safety and reduce crashes at this site. The project will widen the intersection and provide new pavement markings and signs that will improve recognition of the intersection. The removal of guardrails and flattening of adjacent slopes will make the road more forgiving if drivers make errors. The grading will also improve sight distance for vehicles at the intersection. This project is funded with assistance from the High Risk Rural Road fund. This safety funding is provided to projects that are designed to make positive changes in the secondary road system’s safety. To qualify for this funding, a site must be ranked among the 15 percent most dangerous intersections throughout the state using compiled crash data and statewide analysis