Jacob Thorius, P.E., has been the County Engineer for Washington County, Iowa, a small rural county in southeastern Iowa, since 2012. Prior to that he was the Assistant County Engineer for Washington County, where he got his start in county government in 2005. Jacob graduated with a BA in Physics from Gustavus Adolphus College and a Masters in Civil Engineering from Iowa State University. Jacob and his staff of 32 maintain 165 miles of Concrete, 8 miles of Asphalt, 650 miles of rock roads, 90 miles of dirt roads and 162 bridges.
Jacob is active in NACE, currently serving as the Secretary-Treasurer and is on the Pavement Preservation Committee and Unpaved Roads Committee. He is also active in the Iowa County Engineers Association where he is currently serving on various committees, such as Computers and Information Technology, advisor to the National Concrete Paving Technology Center and various other committees related to specifications and safety. He is also serving on the Iowa Highway Research Board, working to advance and improve Iowa’s transportation network and serves on technical advisory committees for various research projects related to low volume roads.
Jacob and his wife live in Washington, IA where they are busy raising two boys. When he is not busy spending time with his boys and their many activities, He enjoys officiating high school football, coaching little league baseball, trying to beat his wife at golf, fly fishing and numerous other activities outdoors. He is also active in his church helping lead the high school youth group.