Capacity crowd gathers for Grundy Road meeting

More than 50 area residents filed in to the Dike Community Hall for an informational meeting regarding the controversial plan to pave five miles of a gravel road along the Grundy-Black Hawk County line last Wednesday night.
           
As Grundy County Engineer Gary Mauer, Black Hawk County Engineer Cathy Nicholas and her assistant engineer Ryan Brennan explained to the Boards of Supervisors of both counties and a standing room only crowd, the impetus for the proposal is a substantial increase in traffic over a 35-year period. The northern portion of the road, which runs south from Highway 20 about five miles east of Dike, is now traveled by over 350 vehicles per day (including semi truck drivers for large national corporations like Target and J.B. Hunt), more than double the number in the 1980s. The middle third of the road is up to about 160 vehicles per day, and the southern third, which intersects with D-35 (Zaneta Road), sees about 120 vehicles.
           
Under the current 28E agreement (the road is equally owned by both counties), Black Hawk County is responsible for maintenance and upkeep, and according to Nicholas, crews are placing about 500 tons of rock on Grundy Road annually at a cost of about $40,000 a year. The county average for gravel roads is 300 tons per mile.
           
In addition to paving five miles of asphalt, the plan calls for re-grading and new culverts, and it will require the purchase of right-of-way along with reimbursement for affected landowners. The projected total cost is $8 million, with Grundy and Black Hawk Counties sharing the burden equally. 
 
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