Planned F58 bridge replacement may require removing walnut trees; county notes safety and historic-review findings
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Summary
Muscatine County public works staff told supervisors that a planned F58 paving project and nearby bridge replacement will likely require removing rows of walnut trees inside the road's clear zone; historical review through SHPO/NEPA found limited grounds for national listing and county has contacted the Wilton Train Depot Museum ahead of potential removals, with construction projected in 2027.
County public works officials updated the Muscatine County Board of Supervisors on March 23 about a planned paving project on F58 and an associated bridge replacement near the county line that will likely affect a continuous row of walnut trees along the roadway.
Officials said the paving will extend from the Wilton city limits to the county line (with Cedar County to continue paving to Durant) and that the adjacent bridge—described as a nonredundant steel-member structure formerly called "fracture critical"—will be replaced. The walnut trees fall within the road’s clear zone and pose a safety hazard, the presenter said; options are to remove the trees or shield them with guardrail.
The county reported it has completed a historic-resources review with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and under NEPA procedures; SHPO advised that the row of trees would be considered a landscape and that landscapes are difficult to list on the National Register without a large, well-established grouping (the official said "you'd have to be hundreds of trees" to have a strong case for national listing). The presenter said he had reached out to the Wilton Train Depot Museum to notify them and planned follow-up discussions.
Officials estimated guardrail would require approximately 900 to 1,500 feet of steel guardrail along the corridor; they said cable guardrail (a cheaper alternative) likely cannot be used where there is insufficient right-of-way. The presenter also noted project constraints including stream-bed impact determinations for a separate box culvert project and the need to address century-old culverts that may not meet current clear-zone standards.
The presenter told supervisors the likely construction window for the F58 bridge replacement is the 2027 construction season. He cautioned the county’s current evaluation may prompt public concern and said county staff would continue outreach.
Quotes on the record included technical details and outreach plans; the transcript captures the official saying, "...it pretty much looks like the tree's gotta go..." and that SHPO had described listing a landscape as "really tough to get on there." The county did not record a formal decision to remove trees at the meeting.
Next steps: county staff will continue design coordination with the DOT and local stakeholders; additional public notifications or meetings are likely as design and right-of-way work progress.
