EVANSDALE - Some government red tape could be cut Thursday, making it easier, and possibly cheaper, to replace the inside lanes of Dubuque Road next spring.

Evansdale Mayor Chad Deutsch will ask the Black Hawk County Metropolitan Area Transportation Policy Board to allow a local engineer of the city's choosing to finalize reconstruction plans instead of going through the state. Deutsch also wants $108,000 budgeted for design engineering fees to be shifted to construction so all financial obligations are met.

The board, which decides how to spend federal transportation dollars locally, will meet at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Iowa Northland Regional Council of Governments building in downtown Waterloo. Kevin Blanshan, INRCOG's director of transportation and data services, said the request makes sense.

"It just allows them (city of Evansdale) to expedite the project," Blanshan said. "The board will adjust funding from time to time. It's not uncommon to do that."

The latest cost estimates to remove and replace the washboarded inside lanes of Dubuque Road with concrete in Evansdale is $1.5 million to $1.6 million. A little more than $1.1 million in federal transportation money is budgeted, about $100,000 short of the federal government's 80 percent obligation.

Evansdale will pay 20 percent of the project. Picking up the final engineer bill would be included.

Deutsch, who's also a member of the policy board, said approving the request will help insure construction starts as soon as possible next year. He said it usually takes a couple of months for the state to let engineering bids and choose a firm. Plus, Deutsch is confident a local engineer will be cheaper.

"There's a lot less red tape to go through engineering wise. If we moved the engineering fees to the reconstruction budget, it would meet the 80 percent," he said.

Closing down the bumpy lanes or temporarily repairing the 1.5-mile stretch still is a possibility, Deutsch said. During the winter and spring, frost boils make the 3-foot-wide bumps rise 2 inches or more, and the mayor said they are a safety hazard.

To protect the public, Deutsch said the city may spend $10,000 for equipment to block off the lanes late this fall. Another option is grinding the bumps down and filling in potholes until the lanes are permanently fixed.

"It's still bumpy, just not dangerous," Deutsch said.