Winfield wants Highway 78 widened

The city of Winfield has started a petition to widen and add a shoulder to Highway 78.

Iowa State Highway 78 is one of the major entry points into Winfield.

Winfield is home to a variety of businesses that rely on the highway to run their business. There’s Shelman Trucking, Sinclair Tractor, Prairie Ag Commodities, ChemGro and Growing Ag, all of which have a connection to farming.

“All of these business units have a common similarity and that is large equipment that often take up their full lane of the highway,” Winfield Mayor Willie Bender said. “We are also home to a K-12 school and can bring many younger, less experienced drivers to this highway.”

Within the next year, the Iowa DOT has plans to resurface the highway. Bender says there is one aspect of the highway that’s missing.

“We are very excited for this maintenance project,” Bender said. “If anyone drives this section of Highway 78 from Highway 218 to Winfield you will notice something. There is absolutely no shoulder to this section of the highway. In, fact, in some areas there is a steep drop off into the ditch.”

Not having a shoulder makes it hard for motorists who are having car trouble, because there’s nowhere to go, according to Bender.Sometimes if a vehicle needs to move over to avoid any debris in the road and gets too far over, more often than not the vehicle is pulled into the ditch and rolls over.

Bender said it’s in the best interest of the travelers to have the State widen the road and add a shoulder along with their resurfacing project.

The idea of a petition was brought up by the Winfield City Council. Council member Janet Reynolds was the one who asked to have a petition available at the annual Winfield Crooked Creek Days.

Bender says the support has been great.

“The support we’re hearing is not only coming from residents of Winfield but also from other residents of neighboring towns and visitors that drive the highway,” Bender said. “We were not alone in our concern for this safety hazard.”

Right now the petition is approaching 150 signatures.

Several businesses in the area have joined the conversation and have letters prepared for the Iowa Department of Transportation and Gov. Kim Reynolds. As mayor, Bender has been trying to coordinate the efforts.

The plan is to send the letters and the signed petition to both the DOT and Reynolds sometime this month.

The petition can be found at Winfield City Hall, Pilot Grove Savings Bank, Wayland State Bank, Shelman Trucking, Twin Lakes Country Club, Sinclair Tractor and Winfield Builders Supply. Anyone with a driver's license or permit can sign.

Comments: (319) 931-3393; hunter.moeller@southeastiowaunion.com