Hancock County board adopts resolution to post weight limits on dozens of secondary-road bridges

The Hancock County Board of Supervisors voted June 1, 2026, to adopt Resolution No. 2026-021 requiring weight-limit postings on certain bridges in the county'a measure the board said is necessary to meet federal posting criteria and to protect public safety. The motion to adopt the resolution was made by Supervisor Gary Rayhons and seconded by Supervisor Florence (Sis) Greiman; the motion carried unanimously.

The resolution'printed in the minutes'says the county's bridge inspection program has identified specific structures on the Secondary Road System that must be posted where their capacity is below the legal limit. The Board instructed the County Engineer to "place, or cause to be placed, all necessary signs" to comply with the resolution and cited Code of Iowa sections 321.471, 321.472 and 321.473 as the legal framework referenced in the minutes. The resolution text also states that it supersedes previous county resolutions on bridge posting.

The minutes include an extensive listing of bridges by bridge number, township and location; most entries are labeled "Legal" (indicating no posting is required), while several are marked with specific posted limits or special designations. Examples from the printed list include Bridge 1216 S (Magor) ' posted 3 tons; Bridge 1613 (Magor) ' posted 15 tons; Bridge 1812 (Magor) ' posted 16 tons; Bridge 3364 (Liberty) ' posted 12 tons; Bridge 7082 (Concord) ' posted 19 tons; Bridge 7504 (Bingham) ' posted 25 tons; and several entries listed as "One Truck" or "One Lane" sign series. The minutes also contain several numeric sequences (printed as "428,540,640" in multiple entries) that appear as they are shown in the record; the county's published minutes will contain the authoritative listing.

The board minutes show the motion to adopt the resolution was moved by Rayhons and seconded by Greiman; the record lists the resolution as "approved". The Board directed the County Engineer to install signage as required. The minutes that record this action also indicate the resolution language was dated as printed within the document; the resolution text in the minutes includes the phrase "on this 23rd day of June 2025," which appears inconsistent with the meeting date of June 1, 2026; the minutes do not explain that discrepancy. The county's published minutes and any posted resolution document should be consulted for the final, authoritative text and effective dates.

Next steps noted in the minutes: the County Engineer is responsible for placing the signs; no implementation schedule or specific dates for the signage installations are listed in the minutes.