By WES KAPPELMAN
OSKALOOSA — Pella is looking to find a better way to head east and hoping that a connection to Interstate 80 will solve the problem.
Pella City Administrator Mike Nardini described the project in the June 2008 Pella Chamber of Commerce newsletter.
In 2005, the city of Pella received a federal matching grant for $410,000 to study the feasibility of a route to I-80. The grant covers 80 percent of the project. Nardini wrote that a multi-jurisdictional committee with representatives from Jasper, Marion, Mahaska and Poweshiek counties was formed.
The major reasons for the project Nardini listed were a loss of productivity for businesses, an increase in travel-related costs and personal safety.
Nardini wrote that the most direct way from Pella to I-80 is 18 miles, but 32 to 48 miles when using state highways.
“The 18 mile gap on Interstate 80 between State Highway 14 and State Highway 146, is one of the longest distances in the state in which there is no direct state road available for major population center,” Nardini wrote.
“After considering this fact, it appears Pella is in an underserved area in regards to access to Interstate 80.”
CH2M Hill is the engineering consulting firm performing the initial feasibility study. The plan is for the study to be complete by October of 2008. The study was planned to identify three transportation corridors that will improve access to I-80 along with estimated costs and construction timelines.
The Pella Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Karen Eischen said a connection to I-80 has been an issue for more than 20 years. She said Highway 163 project helped some, but there is still not an efficient route east from Pella.
Eischen said at this point anything is possible. One possibility would be that if Pella does get a connector, that it could eventually be taken down to Highway 92.
“It’s something that the entire area can benefit from,” Eischen said.
The mayor and manager of Oskaloosa have met with the mayors and managers of Pella and Knoxville for several meetings, and have talked about Pella’s corridor study. In the Sept. 2 Oskaloosa City Council meeting, Mayor David Dixon briefed the Oskaloosa City Council on the project.
The council discussed where the best place for the corridor would be for Oskaloosa, with several council members saying the closer the better. Members of the council also talked about holding a work session about the corridor with local state legislators after Pella releases its report.
According to a June Herald story, old Highway 102 and roads T33 and T38 in Mahaska County are being considered. Veenstra and Kimm, a sub-consultant on the project, had sent a letter to the Mahaska County engineer for more information about those roads.
Herald staff writer Wes Kappelman can be reached by e-mail at news2@oskyherald.com
