Page County engineer reports bridge repairs, grant applications and routine road work

Page County Engineer JD King told the Board of Supervisors on Aug. 5 that the Essex Bridge has been reopened to traffic and crews are continuing pipe, pavement and hauling work across the county. “It’s a fine day in Page County,” King said at the start of his update.
Why it matters: King said the county has submitted discretionary grant applications to support repairs on two failing structures — one on Wall Street and a “sister” structure on Stanton Road — and is pursuing other bridge funding opportunities to reduce local costs.
King said crews have been “blading, hauling” and working on concrete pipe and walls at several locations. He reported equipment maintenance needs, including a single-axle truck being returned from Halsby for service and ongoing pickup servicing after a fuel-pump installation that has a leak. King said a new sign truck is anticipated for mid-September delivery.
On bridges and grants, King said the county’s ICA team in Des Moines turned in a grant last Thursday and that a federal application due Aug. 4 included the Wall Street bridge as one proposed project. He described another discretionary bridge grant application pending for the Stanton Road structure and said the two bridges are failing “in the same manner.”
The board asked follow-up questions about specific road locations; King and county staff confirmed they are coordinating field inspections and repair plans.
Ending: King said staff are starting closeout paperwork on completed projects and continuing project development and annual reporting. No formal votes were taken on the bridge grant submissions during the meeting.