Welcome to Howard County, Iowa
Engineer
Contact Information
County Engineer
Howard Engineer's Office
114 7th Street West
Cresco IA 52136
Assistant to the Engineer
Assistant to the Engineer
The County Engineer’s Office and main shop is located in Cresco, near the fairgrounds.
Other maintenance shops are located in Elma, Lime Springs, Riceville, and Schley
Duties and responsibilities of Howard County Engineer
In 2026, the U.S. Department of Transportation will award up to $350 million in Competitive Highway Bridge Program (CHBP) grants to support critical infrastructure projects across the country. CHBP is a nationally competitive grant program that provides funding for transportation bridge infrastructure.
The Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT), along with Howard County and 20+ other counties and cities, is applying for funding to rebuild 32 bridges in poor condition across the state. These bridge replacement projects would improve safety, increase communities’ connection to nearby areas, such as schools, businesses, hospitals, and parks, provide easier access for freight and agricultural movement, and support economic growth.
We need your help by completing a brief survey! This survey will give us insight into your views on the bridges, how you use the current structures, and your thoughts on potential wider, safer bridges capable of carrying heavier loads. The survey should take no more than 5 minutes to complete. We appreciate your input!
The County Engineer must be a licensed professional civil engineer, and is under the direction of the Board of Supervisors, and is responsible for the Secondary Roads Department.
About Us
The County Engineer’s Office and main shop is located in Cresco, near the fairgrounds. Other maintenance shops are located in Elma, Lime Springs, Riceville, and Schley.
The Secondary Roads Department is charged with performing efficiently and economically all construction and maintenance work on the secondary road system.
We currently employ 23 maintenance employees that include:
- Mechanics,
- Patrol Operators,
- Truck Drivers,
- Sign Men, and Laborers.
All maintenance employee’s are required to carry a CDL and must be well versed in heavy equipment operations. The Board of Supervisors establishes policy and the County Engineer executes this policy.
Construction
The Engineer’s office is responsible for the planning, design and construction inspection of all road and bridge projects on the secondary road system.
These projects include:
- Bridge/Culvert Replacement
- Bridge/Culvert Rehabilitation
- Paving - Grading
- Pavement Markings
The planning begins upwards of five years prior to construction and is used to determine what projects can be completed taking into account multiple funding sources.
The design starts with a survey of the project location.
With this information, we can utilize multiple software applications to aid in the design.
All Designs must comply with state and federal regulations.
After the design has been finalized a formal letting can be held.
Construction inspection is required to ensure all work and materials follows plans & specifications.
The project is not complete, however, until the project is finalized by both the County & the IA DOT
This is accomplished by providing required documentation to the DOT and in some cases, this can take up to a year.
Administration
Accounting Accounts Payable — Claims Accounts Receivable Payroll Budgeting
Overseeing 6 million dollars annually in local budgets, farm-to-market and bridge funds.
Following Local, State and Federal Guidelines FEMA– Filing/Compliance OSHA Compliance
Personnel Matters Permits Alter Public ROW Ditch Cleaning Dust Control Entrance - Driveway Moving - Single Trip/Annual OW/OS Tile Crossing Utility
The Secondary Roads Department also currently employs 23 maintenance employees that include:
*Mechanics
*Patrol Operators
*Truck Drivers
*Sign Men
*Laborers
All maintenance employee’s are required to carry a CDL and must be well versed in heavy equipment operations.
The County Engineer’s Office and main shop is located in Cresco, near the fairgrounds.
Other maintenance shops are located in Elma, Lime Springs, Riceville, and Schley
Maintenance
Howard County crews perform a vast amount of maintenance activities throughout the Secondary Road system on both hard surfaced and granular surfaced roadways. These activities include: - Blading granular roadways - Bridge repair - Brush Cutting - Crack sealing - Culvert replacement - Ditch cleaning - Erosion control - Flood repair - Guardrail - Mowing - Re-Grading granular roadways - Rock hauling - Shouldering - Signing - Patching
The Code of Iowa requires all counties to employ a licensed civil engineer known as the County Engineer. All construction and maintenance work on the county secondary roads is performed under the supervision of the County Engineer who is deemed responsible for the efficient, economical and goodfaith performance of said work.
It is the duty of the Board of Supervisors to establish policies and provide adequate funding in order to properly maintain the secondary roads system. Additional guidance comes from the policies and safety standards developed by the Iowa Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration.
The Howard County Engineer’s Office is responsible for the planning, design, accounting and supervision of all the construction and maintenance work performed on the secondary road system. Howard County’s road system includes approximately 760 miles of roads. Of that, there are about 130 miles that are paved. There are approximately 210 bridges over 20 feet in length and over 1,
Snow Removal
Snow removal is one of the most important activities that the Secondary Roads Dept. performs.
Each snow or ice storm has its own characteristics and must be dealt with accordingly.
Hard surfaced roads are first to be opened following a snowstorm and these roads will be treated for ice conditions. Granular surfaced roads are normally not treated for ice. Howard County attempts to get all areas of the County roads open to at least one lane of traffic as quickly as possible after a snow event. Wind, freezing and thawing often hamper the County’s attempts to keep roads open and hard surfaced roads clear of ice.
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