HC roads ready for RAGBRAI, county engineer says

Henry County roads are ready for RAGBRAI, engineer Jake Hotchkiss said.

Bicyclists in the (Des Moines) Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) will pass through Salem on Friday, July 26. Riders will start in Fairfield that morning, go through Stockport and meet in Salem. From Salem, they will travel to Houghton and then go on to Geode State Park. They will end the day in Burlington.

To get to Salem, riders will come through the southwest part of Henry County on Highway 16 to Hillsboro. They will go across J20 to Salem by Franklin Avenue. Then they will go back on Hwy 16 up to Geode State Park, Hotchkiss said.

'The impact as far as county roads is pretty minimal. The routes they've selected are decent pavements for us,” Hotchkiss said during a Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, March 26.

As spring thaw continues, Hotchkiss said rains 'set us back” on gravel roads. Roads are still soft in places, and some areas are still showing the wear and tear of winter, Hotchkiss said.

Hotchkiss said the Roads Department has hauled 8,000 tons of rock for spot rock to fix holes already this year. They do have a plan to rerock the roads this spring and summer; however, the roads need time to 'heal up” before blading, Hotchkiss said.

'Half inch rains highlight the problems out there we haven't gotten to yet,” he said.

Last week, the Road Department worked on getting pipes drained down where water was sitting in the roads. They cleaned culverts on Benton Avenue and removed trees impeding flowing water.