Over $38 million in grant funding for bridge projects in Washington and five neighboring counties will be transferred from Washington County to the Iowa Department of Transportation. This procedural step was approved by the county supervisors on Tuesday.

Washington County Engineer Jacob Thorius spoke with the supervisors about the funds, “You have the grant agreement between the Federal Highway and the Iowa DOT that specifies how the funds are coming, and being used for the project. It names Washington County as a subrecipient of those funds, so we are having the DOT actually accept those funds on our behalf. More to keep you informed of the agreement, especially the fact that we are transferring the funds to the DOT. This is a standard agreement that unfortunately if we want the money we don’t have a whole lot of say in terms of tweaking it. A little input back and forth between the DOT and myself and the Highway Administration, but kind of have to follow their boiler plate.” 

The Federal Highway Administration awarded $38,640,000 to Washington County for the Building Bridges Today Helping Feed America Tomorrow project that will remove and replace seven bridges in poor condition in six counties.

The bridges bundled in this project are described as providing critical linkages for the transport of grain and livestock from farms to markets throughout the region. These funds were announced in the fall of 2024. 

The agreement states that the construction projects will be completed by July of 2031.