County Board lowers speed limit near sand quarry

In June the Winneshiek County Board unanimously approved a modification of Wiltgen Construction's conditional use permit for its Canoe Valley Road sand quarry.  The vote allowed Wiltgen to quarry limestone for 15 working days a year.

At the time of the vote, however, supervisors said they were concerned about the dust generated by the truck traffic on the road near the quarry.

On Monday, the county board unanimously approved a resolution lowering the speed limit on parts of Canoe Valley Road and Middle Hesper Road.  The speed limit will now be 25 miles per hour instead of 55 miles per hour.  The change is being described as "temporary," with supervisors ordering Winneshiek County Engineer Lee Bjerke to monitor the roads to determine whether the new speed is effective in reducing the dust hazard and to report back to the county board within the next 90 days.