The Mahaska County Board and City of Oskaloosa are both authorizing an application for a state grant to build a road to connect US Highway 63 and State Highway 23 on Oskaloosa’s south side.  At their respective meetings Monday (4/18), the Mahaska County Board and Oskaloosa City Council both voted to support the application for a $7.3 million RISE grant—that’s Revitalize Iowa’s Sound Economy—to go toward building a road linking the two highways.  The new road is still years in the making, but the idea is to direct truck traffic coming from the south toward the industrial area along Highway 23 without going through residential neighborhoods.  The overall project is expected to cost about $11.2 million. Mahaska County and the City of Oskaloosa will split the remainder of the cost.