New Winneshiek County road grader will cost $246,500

(Photo courtesy of Caterpillar)

Winneshiek County supervisors have unanimously approved the purchase of a road grader made by Caterpillar.  The model 12M grader will cost $246,500. 

Supervisors weighed the merits of the Caterpillar model against those of two John Deere models.  The JD 772 was priced $1,150 less than the Caterpillar 12M, while the JD 672 was priced around $28,000 less.  But the Caterpillar model is the same one used by the County Highway Department now and has more horsepower than the John Deere 672.

After a lengthy discussion Monday, supervisors voted unanimously to follow the County Highway Department's recommendation to buy the Caterpillar model.