Supervisors object to proposed DOT detour through town and table agreement pending alternate routes

County staff presented the Iowa Department of Transportation’s proposed detour for a planned full-deck replacement of the Highway 169 bridge. Board members raised repeated safety concerns about routing heavy traffic past the high school and through town, noting the construction window runs roughly May through November and would affect school traffic.

Supervisors asked staff to raise alternatives with DOT and a supervisor said they would make a formal objection if DOT does not consider a safer route. An engineer suggested the county could propose alternate routing that avoids school traffic; one supervisor said, ‘‘I just like to make a verbal objection’’ to the proposed plan and the board moved to table the agreement to allow further discussion with DOT.

Motion and vote: A motion to table the detour agreement was made, seconded and approved by voice vote. Staff will follow up with DOT and report back at the next meeting with any alternate-route proposals.

Next steps: staff will contact the DOT representative who submitted the proposed detour, ask whether alternate routes are feasible and present any responses at the following meeting; supervisors indicated they prefer not to accept a route that places heavy traffic near schools.