A key component for future development along the two main highways through the city of Jefferson have recently been completed.

Greene County Development Corporation Executive Director Greg Piklapp says the traffic study for a business prospect that wants to be located within the US Highway 30 corridor is now finished and submitted to the Iowa Department of Transportation. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio before any kind of development can happen along state highways, a traffic study is a procedural step toward that goal, but the business prospect was agreeable to widen the study to include two miles outside of the city limits to the west and east, as well as north on Iowa Highway 4. 

Piklapp shares one main concern he has as the DOT reviews the study is what can and can’t be done in the near-term.

“We know Highway 30 is targeted for the four-lane expansion like they did on the (Highway) 20 in the past several years. The DOT is trying to do is plan for that, it being so far into the future. So we’re having the conversation with the DOT saying, ‘Yes we understand that this is a concern maybe in 2035 in your (the DOT’s) future planning, but we’re in 2026.’ We cannot have things on hold for this property for ten years while this comes to fruition or if it doesn’t. Really just making sure that we don’t have to wait, we can use the property now for the community needs and the Greene County needs.”    

Piklapp talks about a key aspect toward achieving success with expanding those highway corridors is communicating and working together with the city of Jefferson, Greene County and the DOT.

“To get us all focused on the same things of saying, ‘This is our target now, this is our target in ten (years) and this is our target in 15 years.’ How do we make sure that we’re all on the same page for this long of time because I’m here now, I might not be here in 20 years. I want to make sure my successors down the road, and the future board members of GCDC, and the mayor and council of Jefferson, and the (Greene County Board of) Supervisors, their future representatives all the same ability to know that we were planning for this, this is why we did this.”       

Piklapp adds that the location of Jefferson and Greene County with the travel distance to Des Moines, is a sweet spot for commercial and manufacturing businesses. He hopes to have the review process with the DOT wrapped up soon and move forward with the business prospect.