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County engineers report new bridge openings; supervisors weigh costs of new state 60 mph speed law
Summary
Engineers reported two recent bridge openings and ongoing overlay work; the meeting devolved into an extended discussion about a recently passed state law that may raise some county roads to 60 mph, with staff warning of necessary engineering studies, signage and pavement‑marking costs and proposing a resolution to list candidate roads pending analysis.
County engineering staff reported two completed bridge replacement projects — the 362nd Avenue and 458th Avenue bridges — and gave progress updates on Bernard Road overlay work and upcoming beam‑setting operations. "The 362nd Avenue bridge replacement is complete and is open to traffic as of last Wednesday. The 458th Avenue bridge replacement project is also complete and open as of yesterday," staff said while reviewing current projects.
The largest portion of the update focused on a state law change affecting speed limits. Engineering staff explained they plan to bring a resolution listing roads that could be evaluated for a 60 mph limit and that, before any signs change, the county must perform site‑specific engineering analyses — including sight‑distance checks, no‑passing zone reviews, and use of a ball‑bank indicator on curves. Staff cautioned there could be significant costs for pavement line repainting, advisory plaques, chevrons or guardrails on some roads. "Until a traffic or engineering analysis or study can be performed, these are the roads that shall remain [at current limits] until that study is performed and determine otherwise," staff summarized. Supervisors asked about timing and cross‑county coordination; staff said a formal resolution and a county DOT preconstruction coordination were forthcoming.
