A federal grant will cover more than three-quarters of the estimated construction cost to replace a 72-year-old bridge east of Alton.
Sioux County is one of seven Iowa counties benefiting from a $24 million award through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development, or BUILD, program.
Sioux County Engineer Joel Sikkema says approximately $2.1 million of the award will go toward replacing the bridge just east of Alton. Sioux County and the City of Alton jointly maintain the structure.
The announcement resolves a grant application Sikkema discussed earlier this year. In April, while discussing federal funding awarded for a separate bridge replacement near McNally, Sikkema said the county was awaiting word on an additional application for the aging bridge east of Alton.
Aging Structure Reaching End of Its Life
Sikkema says that the bridge was constructed over half a century ago and is showing deterioration in several areas.
“It’s an old bridge. It’s 72 years old, and it’s a steel I-beam bridge. And so that steel’s rusting,” Sikkema said.
The concrete abutments supporting the ends of the bridge are also cracking and breaking away.
The county has performed maintenance over the years to extend the structure’s useful life, including repairs to the abutments and approach pavement, as well as a concrete overlay on the bridge deck.
“We’ve done a lot of maintenance on it. We’ve extended the life as long as we can,” Sikkema said. “It’s just at a point in time where now it makes sense to replace it.”
Grant to Cover More Than Three-Quarters of Cost
Construction is currently estimated to cost approximately $2.7 million. The anticipated $2.1 million federal contribution would cover more than three-quarters of that amount.
Sioux County and the City of Alton are expected to split the remaining construction costs after a contract is signed and the work is completed.
The existing bridge is approximately 275 feet long. The replacement is expected to be about 300 feet long.
Sikkema says projects of that size can be difficult for rural counties and smaller communities to finance without outside assistance.
“It’s always difficult to find enough money to replace a big bridge like this, because right now this is a 275-foot-long bridge. We’re planning on making it a 300-foot-long bridge. And those are just, for a smaller community like Alton, for a rural county like Sioux County, it’s hard to come up with that sort of money. And so these federal programs, they really help to fill in the gaps for those sorts of things that are difficult for us to find the funding to do.”
Construction Planned for 2029
Although the grant has now been announced, construction is not expected to begin for several years. The county is planning to replace the bridge in 2029.
Sikkema says the current bridge remains safe for traffic, and the timeline will give the county time to design the replacement and develop the project.
“The bridge is still, I would say, a safe bridge,” Sikkema said. “It’s getting old, but it’s still a safe bridge.”
The Alton-area bridge is the second Sioux County bridge project to receive significant federal support this year.
The previously announced project near McNally received approximately $440,000 toward an estimated $660,000 replacement of a bridge built in 1967. That project is targeting a September 2027 letting, with construction potentially beginning later that year.
Part of More Than $71 Million for Iowa Projects
The Sioux County award is part of more than $71 million announced for bridge and roadway improvements in nine Iowa counties.
The $24 million multi-county portion will replace seven bridges in Boone, Butler, Clinton, Humboldt, Jackson, Lucas, and Sioux counties. Additional funding was awarded for major roadway projects in Black Hawk and Johnson counties.
The BUILD program was reauthorized through the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
As part of a press release, U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley said that the investments will help communities maintain transportation connections and move agricultural and manufacturing products.
“I voted for the bipartisan infrastructure law to fix this problem, and that’s why I’m glad to see this money flowing to replace bridges and bolster infrastructure in communities across our state,” Grassley said.
