An Iowa Department of Transportation resurfacing project is almost complete in Greene County.

DOT District 1 Assistant Engineer Alison Smyth tells Raccoon Valley Radio an asphalt overlay project on Highway 144 started May 10th with repairs to 10-12 drainage pipes that were along the route. She says the contractor, Fort Dodge Asphalt, then started the cold in place recycling asphalt overlay on June 6th from the north city limits of Dana, just south of the Louis Dreyfus ethanol plant. 

Smyth points out Fort Dodge Asphalt will then head south of Highway 30 and continue on Highway 144 up to the railroad tracks. The final part of the project includes a small stretch on Highway 144 north of Highway 30 right before the ethanol plant. Smyth explains how cold in place recycling works and why they wanted to utilize that method for the $2.6 million project.

“We mill it up and then add the rejuvenating agent and then lay it back down and it stays right there in place while we do it (resurface the road.) We like to use the cold in place recycling because we find that it’s a better product in the end, and it lasts a little bit longer than just a typical asphalt overlay.”

Smyth adds Fort Dodge Asphalt will also add an additional two inches of asphalt on top of the resurfaced road to keep moisture out. The cold in place recycling asphalt overlay is anticipated to last another 20 years. She is hoping the project will be complete by mid-August.