Company Description:
The Keokuk County Highway Department is responsible for maintaining the secondary road system. Keokuk County has 924 miles of secondary roads, consisting of 104 miles of Class "B" (dirt) roads, 732 miles of Class "A" (gravel) roads and 88 miles of paved roads. The secondary road system also includes over 300 bridges, and literally thousands of field/driveway entrances, drainage crossings, signs, roadside ditches, and signs within the public road right-of-way. The county engineer, Christy Van Buskirk, serves as department head for the Keokuk County Highway Department. By state law, the Board of Supervisors is required to employ one or more licensed civil engineers to serve as county engineer's. All construction and maintenance work on the secondary road system is to be performed under the county engineer's direction. The Board of Supervisors establishes policies and is to provide adequate funding to properly maintain the secondary road system. The county engineer determines and employs methods, personnel, and equipment necessary to maintain the secondary road system pursuant to Board policy, sound engineering judgment and Iowa Code requirements. A budget and five year construction program is prepared by the county engineer, subject to adoption by the Board of Supervisors and approval by the Iowa Department of Transportation. A report summarizing the activities of the Highway Department is also submitted each year. It is interesting to note that over two thirds (2/3) of the Highway Department budget is funded by Road Use tax funds. Depending on the taxing district, only about 10-12% of property taxes paid go to Highway Department activities. In addition, all monies from the county come from the rural basic fund. There are no general monies allotted to the Highway Department.
The Keokuk County Highway Department is responsible for maintaining the secondary road system. Keokuk County has 924 miles of secondary roads, consisting of 104 miles of Class "B" (dirt) roads, 732 miles of Class "A" (gravel) roads and 88 miles of paved roads. The secondary road system also includes over 300 bridges, and literally thousands of field/driveway entrances, drainage crossings, signs, roadside ditches, and signs within the public road right-of-way. The county engineer, Christy Van Buskirk, serves as department head for the Keokuk County Highway Department. By state law, the Board of Supervisors is required to employ one or more licensed civil engineers to serve as county engineer's. All construction and maintenance work on the secondary road system is to be performed under the county engineer's direction. The Board of Supervisors establishes policies and is to provide adequate funding to properly maintain the secondary road system. The county engineer determines and employs methods, personnel, and equipment necessary to maintain the secondary road system pursuant to Board policy, sound engineering judgment and Iowa Code requirements. A budget and five year construction program is prepared by the county engineer, subject to adoption by the Board of Supervisors and approval by the Iowa Department of Transportation. A report summarizing the activities of the Highway Department is also submitted each year. It is interesting to note that over two thirds (2/3) of the Highway Department budget is funded by Road Use tax funds. Depending on the taxing district, only about 10-12% of property taxes paid go to Highway Department activities. In addition, all monies from the county come from the rural basic fund. There are no general monies allotted to the Highway Department.