After years now of talk and work, the Iowa DOT is down to two options for the IA 117/330/US 65 intersection area in Jasper County.
The interchange and J-turn plans now are substantially what they were last time, with the note that the northbound offramps do not include a traffic circle. The J-turn would not substantially affect surrounding land. The interchange would bisect the area between IA 117 and County Road F17 and force the removal of three farmsteads…
…farmsteads owned by a family that has been fighting the Marshalltown diagonal literally for generations.
Surely Cleverly noticed that some time ago, the DOT already extended turn lanes, added intersection warning signs, and dropped the speed limit, but it’s not enough. It is still No. 10 overall, and No. 3 for rural areas, on the state’s “Intersection Safety Improvement Candidate Location” list.
The public meeting will be June 3 in Baxter, and it’s notable for including a formal presentation, which isn’t done very often nowadays. It’s possible the DOT will be fighting its most public eminent-domain battle in some time.