~by The Scranton Journal
Greene County completed paving all the gravel crossings on the Raccoon River Valley Trail in September. The Winkelman Switch crossing finished the summer-long project of pouring concrete across the ten gravel roads to finish the Greene County section that runs from Jefferson to the Guthrie County line.
There are three gravel crossings remaining in Guthrie County, all located north of Yale. Dallas County has five remaining gravel crossings.
An effort has been initiated to raise the money needed to pave the remaining eight gravel crossings. With an estimated cost of $8 – $10,000 each, approximately $80,000 is needed.
The Raccoon River Valley Trail Association is matching funds, up to $10,000, to get the crossings paved. Information on their efforts is available on their website located at www.raccoonrivervalleytrail.org/become-a-friend-of-the-trail .
Both Guthrie and Dallas Counties paved several gravel crossings during the summer of 2016. Trail officials would like to see the paving project completed this summer.
Greene County accomplished the paving thanks to the support and cooperation of several businesses and organizations. The Greene County Community Foundation provided grants totaling $45,000 in 2014 and 2015.
The big boost came from the Grow Greene County grant of $124,000 that was received last spring. (Grow Greene County distributes the gambling profits from Wild Rose Casino in Jefferson.)
Greene County conservation director Dan Towers appreciated the assistance and cooperation of Greene County secondary roads. They provided expertise, site prep work, culvert installation and material hauling. Dennhardt Construction installed the cement which was purchased from Hamilton Redi-Mix.
Towers noted the 10 crossings were constructed to comply with Iowa Department of Transportation specifications, making for a first class trail to cross each road intersection.
According to Towers, Carroll County recently looked at the Greene County section of the trail and plans to initiate a fund raising campaign to install crossings on the Sauk Rail Trail.
“We feel very fortunate to have completed all of the Greene County crossings,” said Towers. “The conservation board thanks Grow Greene County and the Community Foundation grant committees for having the trust and confidence in our county agencies to fund this project.”
He explained some needed maintenance was also done last year to the seven miles of asphalt surface. Mastic leveling to smooth some rough spots and Paverex Rejuvinator was used to extend the life of the asphalt.
“When the RRVT was built in 1996, the asphalt portion was projected to provide 15 years of a good biking surface,” added Towers. “It’s now 20 years old and we’re trying to put enough band aids on it to last until funding can be found to convert it to concrete.”
