State budget cuts are holding up progress on one Winneshiek County bridge project

As a way to save money during the budget cut, the State of Iowa put together an incentive plan to encourage long-time state employees to take early retirement.  A number of state employees accepted the offer--but now the impact of those departures is being felt in a number of ways, including on one bridge project in Winneshiek County.

Winneshiek County Engineer Lee Bjerke says he's been waiting for a letter from the Iowa DNR signing off on a bridge project on 253rd Avenue near Bluffton.  DNR officials contend the letter isn't necessary.  However, Bjerke says he wonders if the DNR official who used to write the letters hasn't retired--and the remaining DNR employees aren't familiar with the procedures used in the past.

Bjerke says the situation has gotten so bad that Federal Highway Administration officials in Ames and Iowa Department of Transportation officials in Ames are asking for a face-to-face meeting with DNR officials, hoping that such a meeting would produce the necessary sign-off by the Iowa DNR.  Bjerke says when he learns of the day and time of the meeting he'll take a trip down to Ames to attend--to guarantee that the Winneshiek County bridge project isn't delayed any further.