From there, the crew will go to Butler Co. and do a 37,000 ton project on Hwy 57. This project involves widening and a two-lift HMA overlay. They will then be off to Worth Co. to do 28,000 ton of asphalt on four different projects for the County. These four projects involve cold in-place recycled material and HMA overlay. This is the extent of the projects we currently have that should take us sometime into June.

The next letting is scheduled for March 26. We are looking at projects in Worth, Hancock, and Kossuth counties. The work in Hancock and Worth could be done from the same plant site as the job we already have in Worth Co.

The commercial market doesn’t look very good for this year, either. We presently have some work to do at the new bridge in Brooklyn and two contracts for shoulder strengthening work on Interstate 80. We also have a project on Highway 65 in the northwest corner of Jasper Co. and a spot overlay job on Highway 117 from Prairie City to Highway 65. Manatt’s is a subcontractor on all of these projects except the Highway 117 project, so we don’t know for sure when a lot of the work will be scheduled.

As far as other work, we know that in July, Jasper Co. is going to have a project that will have around 90,000 ton. This consists of a three-tiered project. There will be a full depth HMA project from just west of Baxter to Highway 330, a full depth job on 44^th Ave. from Sully, west to T22, and a crack and seat job by Galesburg to T22. The County is also going to have a local letting of around 7½ miles of Black Bound Base that Kurt Kelly’s crew does, with a 2” HMA surface on top.

We don’t know for sure, but have heard that Poweshiek Co. Highway 6 is going to get HMA overlay, along with Highway 85. I have been told this is slated for the July letting, but we were also told that they were both going to happen last year. I won’t hold my breath on these two projects until they are actually in the letting. We are hopeful for a little work in Kellogg and Grinnell and other surrounding towns.

As the new season gets started, we all need to be very much on our toes concerning safety. We would like all of our people to end the season in as good a health as they started. If everyone will stay alert and aware of their surroundings and do their jobs in a safe manner, this CAN happen!!! HAVE A SAFE YEAR.

Note: Sandy is recovering from knee surgery. Wish her well when you talk to her. Hopefully, she will be back to work about the end of the month.