(Radio Iowa) – The state Transportation Commission approved funding for four RISE road projects today (Tuesday) that will help new and expanding businesses. The D-O-T’s Deb Arp says one award will go to Perry to build a roundabout into the area that will serve the new J-B-S sausage plant and A-D-R axles in the city Industrial Park.
“The roundabout would add just over one-point-one million dollars in estimated eligible project costs for the certified site local development component of the project. The City of Perry has requested additional RISE funds up to 60 percent of the additional roadway costs in accordance with the RISE certified sites policy. The design is anticipated to be complete by December 2026 and constructed by December 2028,” Arp says. Perry City Administrator Sven Peterson says the intersection at Highway 141 now has just stop signs and is a worry.
“So I live just like half a mile east of this intersection. And I cringe every time I go through it just of like, who is gonna be pulling out where and things like that,” he says. Peterson says there’s a new convenience store in the area and there will be 500 people initially working at the sausage plant and 30 to 50 at A-D-R axles. The Commission approved an additional 695-thousand dollars in RISE (Revitalize Iowa’s Sound Economy) funding to go with previously approved funding for Perry.
The city of New Hampton received around 860-thousand dollars in funding for a roadway on the south side of town. “The proposed improvement supports the further development of South Industrial Park in cooperation with the New Hampton Industrial Development Corporation. The roadway will provide access to 12 lots totaling more than 31 acres for industrial purposes,” she says.
Bondurant received RISE funding to help build access for a new business. ” The proposed roadway provides access to the expansion of Vermeer, a manufacturer of agricultural industrial equipment, and assists in the retention of 133 jobs and creation of 182 additional full-time jobs in a more than 300-thousand square foot facility, giving Vermeer the ability to draw from an additional labor shed outside of its Pella headquarters,” Arp says. Bondurant and the county received around seven-point-seven million dollars in RISE funding for the project.
The final award was to West Burlington for a little more than one million dollars to build part of a new roadway located on the northwest side of town. It will provide improved access to four lots totaling more than 27 acres for industrial purposes.
