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County to hold speed-limit signs at 55 mph while engineering study identifies roads that should remain below 60
Summary
After a briefing on Senate File 378, which raises the statewide default paved-road speed to 60 mph July 1, Black Hawk County approved a resolution to temporarily keep paved secondary county roads at 55 mph while the county engineer and sheriff complete traffic and engineering studies to identify segments that should remain slower.
The Black Hawk County Board of Supervisors on June 30 approved a resolution to temporarily maintain a 55-mph posting on many paved secondary county roads while county engineers and the sheriff’s office complete engineering and traffic investigations required by Senate File 378.
County Engineer Kathy Nicholas told the board the new state law raises the default paved-road speed to 60 mph effective July 1 but that the county may adopt lower limits where an engineering study justifies it. "We wanted to pause and have a chance to look at all of our 230 miles of paved county roads before we start putting up 60 mph speed limit signs," Nicholas said, noting safety-related impacts on sight-distance calculations, driveway-permit conditions, no-passing zones and rumble-strip placement.
Chief Deputy Jason Tronis of the Black Hawk County Sheriff's Office said the sheriff supports a methodical review: "When you increase the speed it definitely increases the severity of the accident even if it's a single vehicle." He urged careful study of crash history on specific segments.
Nicholas said the county expects the evaluation to take "three or four months" and will prioritize segments with known safety concerns (she cited a stretch near Cedar Wapsy and Wagner Road with multiple fatalities over the past decade). The county will bring individual-speed-limit resolutions back to the board for segments it recommends staying at 55 mph; the board noted any posted signs should be obeyed during the transition and that enforcement will follow posted limits.
The board also discussed practical costs and infrastructure implications — changing signs is the immediate step, but restriping pavement, relocating rumble strips and revising signage for curves would take longer and cost more; many of those changes would be made during routine resurfacing projects unless a near-term crash pattern required faster action.
Ending: The board approved the temporary posture to permit targeted engineering reviews; county staff said they will return with prioritized segments, cost estimates and periodic updates to the board.
