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Maintenance Division
The maintenance division of
the highway department is responsible for roadway
maintenance, snow removal, tile crossing repair, bridge and
culvert repair, ditch cleaning, dust control and roadway
signing. The main maintenance shop is located at 1995 Euclid
Ave north of Waverly.
Roadway Maintenance
Contractors are
hired to do resurfacing, crack sealing and pavement markings
on the paved surfaced roads. Granular surfaced roads are
maintained by application of rock either through the annual
contract rock program or by spot rock applied as needed by
County personnel. Bremer County is divided into 10 zones
with each zone operator being responsible for the blading
and maintenance of nearly 60 miles of granular surfaced
roads in addition to the paved roads in their zone. The zone
operators work out of the main shop or one of seven outlying
shops throughout Bremer County.
Snow Removal
Each snow or ice storm has its own characteristics and
must be dealt with accordingly. Hard surfaced roads are the
first to be opened following a snowstorm and these roads
will be treated for ice conditions. Granular surfaced roads
are normally not treated for ice. Bremer County tries to get
all areas of the County open to at least one lane traffic as
quickly as possible after a snow event. Wind, freezing and
thawing often hamper the County’s attempts to keep roads
open and hard surfaced roads free of ice.
Tile Crossings
It is the County’s responsibility to maintain drainage
tile that cross the roadway. A permit must be issued by the
Engineer’s office prior to installing tile crossing any
County road or before placing a tile outlet or inlet in the
road right of way.
Bridge and Culvert Repair
County personnel repair and maintain the County’s
bridges and culverts. Bremer County’s bridge crew replaces 5
or 6 bridges and culverts each construction season.
According to Iowa Code any project costing more than $65,000
must be let to contractors.
Ditch Cleaning
Road ditches are used for snow storage during the
winter. These ditches are cleaned to maintain and improve
roadway drainage. Prior to cleaning any ditch Iowa One Call
has to be notified for any utilities in the area. Dirt in
the ditch belongs to the County and will be disposed of as
they see fit. Notify the Engineer’s office if ditches in
your area need to be cleaned.
Dust Control
Bremer County only puts down dust control on haul routes
or on roads established as detours. Bremer County residents
must obtain a dust control permit from the Engineer’s office
prior to putting down dust control or hiring a vendor to put
down dust control. After obtaining your permit, county
personnel will prepare your road for the dust control and
will not blade through the area as long as it is maintained
in an acceptable manner by the county resident. Permits are
normally valid until the first part of October when the
County starts to ready the roads for winter.
Roadway Signing
Bremer County has
approximately 6,017 traffic control signs on county roads
including 497 stop signs. It costs Bremer County taxpayers
almost $125 to replace a damaged or stolen stop sign. Report
sign damage to the County Engineer’s office during regular
business hours or to the Law Center after hours.
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