A major bridge project is going to start soon in Greene County.

The bridge on South Grimmell Road in Jefferson will be replaced. The Greene County Board of Supervisors approved at their July 29th meeting Godbersen-Smith Construction Company with a bid of $2,088,602 to do the work. County Engineer Wade Weiss says this project is in partnership with the city of Jefferson. 

“A lot of individuals don’t even know it’s a city bridge. That’s not uncommon in small cities or even in larger cities that these structures are on the outside of the city limits or just inside the city limits. So it is vital for the county, that segment of road, and that bridge – a river bridge – like that nature is pretty difficult for a smaller community to take on (by itself).”

Weiss points out that he applied for funding through the Iowa Department of Transportation with the City Bridge Funds and the Jefferson City Council approved at a meeting in December of 2022 to accept using up to $1.5 million to offset the project cost. Weiss notes the county will be using federal aid funding for their contribution. 

Weiss anticipates the project to begin at the end of August or beginning of September and believes the project will take one year to complete.