Greene County Development Corporation is working with a new potential business that is wanting to be located along Highway 30 in Jefferson.

GCDC Executive Director Greg Piklapp says the business prospect reached out to request a partnership for the cost of a traffic study that is required by the Iowa Department of Transportation, which he stresses is to make sure it complies with the DOT’s traffic flows on the highway. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio GCDC negotiated with the potential business to widen the scope of the traffic study to include two miles outside of city limits to the west and east of Highway 30 and north on Highway 4. 

Piklapp indicates that the company was fine with that as this report will be of great benefit, since the last DOT approved traffic study was done over a decade ago.

“So now we have a traffic study updated for ten years, minimum, about what we can do for that entire corridor for future economic development.” 

Piklapp points out that this was one step in the direction of what he and GCDC’s new partnership with the Ames Regional Economic Alliance (AREA) sees this study working towards their overall goal.

“I cannot stress enough how good having the Highway 30 corridor, through Jefferson and Greene County, is going to be good for business development. I mean that’s one of the key things is part of our contract with GCDC and here with AREA is working with future commercial development, not only along the Highway 30 corridor in the north, but also the East Lincoln Way corridor to the east here in Jefferson too. We want to make sure it’s balanced, we want to make sure that it’s quality, we want to make sure it benefits local business owners and new business owners.”    

Piklapp adds that GCDC has agreed to pay a minimum of 50 percent of the cost of the traffic study, with a maximum amount of $10,000. The study would be done within 30-45 days.