It’s taken two years to get to this stage, but Marion County may now go ahead with a study of its transportation needs for the next few decades.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the County Board of Supervisors approved its portion of the funding agreement with the Federal Highway Administration; this will permit the county to proceed with an examination of how its highway system will be impacted for up to 40 years in the future.

The county has been budgeting $50,000 per year for this study over the last two years, which overlap three fiscal years and leaves the county with a total of $150,000 set aside.

The federal grant would cover the first $100,000 with the remainder split between the cities of Knoxville and Pella; the true cost may run up to $170,000. All three parties would reimburse Marion County for the expense; the county itself would not be required to pay out any of its own funds.

The board also agreed to extending the speed limit along the 1900 block of G28; this comes at the request of a number of residents, many of whom came to the meeting and say drivers often go up to 70 miles per hour along that stretch, part of which had been set at just 45.

While the speed limit has been lowered to 45 along the rest of the road, County Engineer Tyler Christian says that in itself will not get drivers to slow down; so the county will be looking at other measures to lower speeds and increase safety.