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County engineer: state law will make unsigned paved roads 60 mph; county orders sticker program and will review curves
Summary
Des Moines County’s engineer told supervisors a new state law sets unsigned paved roads at 60 mph; the county has ordered stickers to update existing signs and will review curves and no-passing areas, while staff also warned about recent sign theft and vandalism.
Brian Carter, Des Moines County’s county engineer, told the Board of Supervisors on June 16 that a recently passed state bill effectively raises unsigned paved roads to 60 miles per hour.
Carter said the county has ordered stickers that staff will apply to existing speed-limit signs to reflect the change where appropriate, rather than trying to install new 55-mph signs at every border. He told the board the law’s language specifically allowed use of stickers; he estimated sticker delivery in July and said crews will review curves and no-passing zones to determine whether additional signing or field surveys are needed.
"We're going to go ahead ... stick 60 mph on the signs that we do have," Carter said, describing a phased approach that begins with plan data and, where necessary, fieldwork using vehicle-mounted slope meters to check curve geometry.
Board members asked about theft and vandalism of signs in an area with large Amish traffic; Carter said crews have cleaned defaced signs multiple times and are exploring ways to make highly visited signs less vulnerable to marker vandalism. The chair and others expressed concern about safety where roads are narrow or sight lines are limited.
Carter said the county will first consult plan documentation to determine appropriate curve signing and will only perform field surveys when that data is insufficient. He described the work as "tedious" but necessary to ensure signs reflect safe conditions under the new state rule.
The county also noted that Iowa DOT traffic counts are being run across the county this week using hoses across the road; staff said the DOT provides maps to help county motor-grader operators avoid damaging the equipment.
The board did not adopt a separate local speed ordinance at the meeting; Carter’s remarks described administrative steps the county will take to comply with the state change and to limit safety risks from vandalized or missing signs.
