At a special meeting Tuesday (3/19), the Mahaska County Board voted to send a letter to the Iowa Department of Transportation asking that a bypass be built from Highway 63 north of Oskaloosa to Highway 163 just west of town. County Board Chairman Mark Groenendyk says the bypass would steer larger vehicles away from downtown.

“There’s a lot of grain trucks, a lot of feed trucks, a lot of service trucks, a lot of heavy equipment that right now is going through downtown Oskaloosa, going up William Penn Hill where the students are crossing, down to the four-way main stop through Oskaloosa, and then going south or east or west.  We’re hoping to catch all the ones going south and/or west and keep them out of the downtown and the college area.”

Groenendyk also says getting the heavier vehicles out of downtown would ease the wear and tear on Oskaloosa roads.  The County Board’s letter asks that the bypass be included in the statewide transportation improvement program for 2020 through 2023.