County engineer: state law makes some paved roads 60 mph; county to use stickers, review curves

Bridal Carters, the county engineer, told the Des Moines County Board of Supervisors on June 16 that a state change now allows paved roads without posted limits set at an unsigned 55 mph default to be treated as 60 mph unless signed otherwise. "So we're gonna go ahead and comply with the code," Carters said, adding the county has ordered stickers to update existing signs and will prioritize safety reviews of curves and no-passing segments.

Carters said staff will first try to use existing plan data to evaluate curve geometry and, if that is insufficient, will perform limited field surveys or rent mobile slope-measurement equipment to collect speed-appropriate elevation and superelevation data. "If we can't do it from that, we will then have to do some field survey and possibly some driving," Carters said. He said the work will be scheduled around other summer duties and that he expects the stickers to arrive around July.

Carters also reported recent local incidents involving sign theft and vandalism in a rural area and said crews have cleaned or replaced frequently targeted signs and are considering protective measures. "He has cleaned off some signs as much as 3 or 4 times," Carters said of his sign contractor, and added staff are exploring ways to make sign faces harder to deface in high‑visit areas.

The engineer said making the change will allow road crews and law enforcement to rely on the statutory speed designation when enforcing limits. Carters said the county will continue to review curves and no-passing areas over the summer and will collect additional data where needed before making permanent signage changes or engineering adjustments.

The board did not take a formal vote on engineering work at this meeting; Carters said the work will proceed as an operational matter and be integrated into routine summer field schedules.