Jefferson County supervisors discuss load embargo on 146th

COPPOCK – The Jefferson County Board of Supervisors debated the merits of a load embargo on 146th Boulevard in the northeast corner of the county, but opted instead to pursue a traffic count after hearing from local property owners and representatives of a sand and gravel company near Coppock.

Jefferson County Engineer DeWayne Heintz spoke about a proposal to place a load embargo, a limit of 20 tons on non-agricultural loads, on 146th Boulevard. He said this would mean that trucks traveling to and from the nearby Coppock Sand and Gravel facility could drive on the road if their trucks were empty but not if they were full.

Mike Totenhagen of Viking Aggregates said he was disappointed he only learned of the proposed load embargo last week, which he said would negatively affect his company since it would require trucks to travel 10-20 minutes out of the way per haul, and that would result in surcharges passed onto customers.

Heintz said he understood those concerns, but the purpose of the load embargo was to preserve a road the county just resurfaced a short time ago. Supervisor Joe Ledger asked Totenhagen if the sand plant would be willing to compensate the county for the damage its trucks did to the road.

“It costs the county a lot of extra money,” Ledger said.

Totenhagen said he knew there was a lot of hog trucks that used the road as well, so he was curious how much of the road damage was caused by sand trucks compared to hog trucks. Viking Aggregates Operations Manager Caleb Morss asked the supervisors to table the proposed load embargo until they could gather more information on the traffic patterns on 146th.

Heintz said that, based on his observations during the day, he’s seen more dump trucks on the road than grain trucks. However, others in the audience said the hog trucks that use the road usually travel at night, so observing the road during the day wouldn’t paint an accurate picture of who uses it.

Ledger said that, while he understood the need to preserve the road and save taxpayer dollars, he didn’t feel comfortable with a proposal that was targeting one company. Heintz said there was no reason to rush the load embargo. He said the matter could wait until spring.

Supervisor Lee Dimmitt said the cost of repairing roads and bridges is enormous, so the county must do all it can to mitigate their deterioration. He suggested the county engineer perform a traffic count later in 2026 to see what kind of trucks are using the road most. The supervisors voted 3-0 to perform a traffic count.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com