Conover Road will get repaved

Part of Conover Road will get paved next spring.  Winneshiek County supervisors on Monday agreed that the road has taken a lot of truck traffic due to the Spillville north bridge closing.  But just how to repair the damage to the road--and how much of the road to repair--are still up in the air.

The road had been scheduled for some repair work, but county officials delayed the work because they know heavy trucks would tear up the road during the bridge detour.  County Engineer Lee Bjerke said Monday, "There's still a lot of traffic (on the road), but truck traffic has dropped substantially."

Bjerke says the county has "a range of options" for repair work next spring: it could keep the road as a gravel road; could do sealcoating on the road; could lay down some recycled pavement; or could put down an asphalt surface.  Bjerke favors the asphalting.

On Monday, Winneshiek County supervisors agreed with Bjerke's recommendation, but were unsure of just how much paving should be done.  70-year-old Paul Estrem of Decorah was killed August 11th when he was riding his bicycle on the Prairie Farmer Trail.  Estrem was struck and killed at the Conover Road crossing after a cloud of dust from the road obscured the vision of a motorist.  Supervisor Bill Ibanez on Monday urged paving Conover Road beyond the intersection with the Prairie Farmer Trail, citing safety concerns.  But supervisor Dean Darling questioned whether the county board would be setting a precedent, noting "We've got thousands of these (trail crossings)."

Bjerke has been asked to develop cost estimates for two different lengths of paving.  The county board has delayed a final decision on the matter until it can see Bjerke's cost estimates.