Do you have questions about Washington County Secondary Road policy? If so you have come to the right place! (Beware, this document is quite lengthy, approximately 15 pages if printed in suggested landscape format. If you have a specific question you may find a hyperlink below that will take you directly to the information you're looking for.)
 | Road Improvement Policy |
| Acquisition of Right-of-Way |
BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Supervisors of Washington County, Iowa, that the following shall be the policy governing changes and improvements of Secondary Roads:
I. ACQUISITION OF RIGHT OF WAY
Compensation for acquisition of additional right of way for public highway easements will be paid as follows:
1. Agricultural Property. Payment by Washington County of 2.73 times the March 1 assessed value of the land in the year acquired.
2. Commercial Property. Payment by Washington County of the March 1 assessed value of the land in the year acquired.
3. Industrial Property. Payment by Washington County of the March 1 assessed value of the land in the year acquired.
4. Residential Property. Payment by Washington County of the March 1 assessed value of the land in the year acquired.
II. DAMAGES INVOLVING FENCESCompensation for damages involving fences on property acquired by easement for public highway purposes will be paid as follows:
1. No payment will be made for fence where there is no existing fence.
2. Removal of existing fence by owner -- $3.00 per rod.
3. Existing fence removal and new woven wire of high tensile fence replaced at $24.00 per rod. ($3.00 per rod for removal and $21.00 per rod for new fence).
4. Existing fence removal and new barbed wire fence (minimum of 4 barbs) replaced at $18.00 per rod. ($3.00 per rod for removal and $15.00 per rod for new fence).
5. Payment for new fence will be made after installation of the fence.
6. New fence must be built within two years of completion of roadway construction to be eligible for payment.
III. ROADSIDE MANAGEMENT AND OBSTRUCTIONS IN HIGHWAYSWashington County shall cause all obstructions in highways, under their jurisdiction, to be removed (Iowa State Code – Chapter 319.1). Highway roadsides shall be as free from physical obstructions above the ground as practicable (Iowa Administrative Code 761-115.7 (306A)). As a minimum, the clear zone should be free of all obstructions. Right-of-way maintenance and sight distance requirements may require the entire right-of-way be clear of all obstructions. Clear Zone is defined as the roadside border area within the highway right-of-way starting at the edge of the traveled way, available for the recovery of errant vehicles. The width of the clear zone is influenced by the type of road facility, speed, horizontal alignment, and embankment slopes. For low speed rural local roads, a minimum clear zone width of 10 feet from the toe of the foreslope should be provided. The IDOT Design Guides, Instructional Memorandums and Iowa Administrative Code shall be used to define the width of the clear zone.
The following are considered obstructions and nuisances:
1. Fence within the clear zone other than right-of-way boundary fence.
2. Any poles, posts, piles of material, hay, cut logs, vehicles, machinery, tanks, or other physical obstructions above the ground.
3. Any new building within the highway right-of-way. Any existing building within the clear zone or causing maintenance problems.
4. Gates, wire panels, woven wire, board fencing, or any other fencing within the highway right of way across the inlet or outlet of drainage structures (Pipe, box culverts, or bridges). When requested by the owner or tenant, the County may approve tying the fence to the corners of the County drainage structure and allowing one or two strands of electric fence across the waterway.
5. Junk, litter, garbage, scrap, appliances, furniture, building rubble, old fencing, tires, burn barrels, yard waste or anything else dumped in the road right-of-way without permission.
6. Trees, shrubs, vines, brush or other vegetation except for vegetation maintained for highway purposes anywhere in the highway right-of-way or encroaching over the highway right-of-way.
Items 1 thru 5 above may be removed according to Iowa Code Chapter 319.13 and the cost thereof assessed against the owner or person responsible for placement of the obstructions or the abutting property owner or tenant.
1. It is the duty and responsibility of every person to see that their garbage is disposed of properly. Any person whose garbage is found in the highway right-of-way will be assessed the clean up costs.
2. With prior approval an abutting property owner, tenant, neighbor, or service club will be allowed to dispose of junk and garbage of unknown origin found in the highway right-of-way at the County recycle center at no cost.
3. The County strongly encourages each abutting property owner and/or tenant to maintain the highway right-of-way to keep it free from all trees, shrubs, vines, brush, and other vegetation not maintained for highway purposes. If the abutting property owners and/or tenants do not perform this maintenance, the County may cut and/or remove said trees, shrubs, vines, brush, and other vegetation. The County will leave said cut or removed trees, shrubs, vines, brush, and other vegetation in the County road right-of-way to naturally decay. The County strongly encourages each abutting property owner or tenant to clean up any cut or removed trees, shrubs, vines, brush, and other vegetation in order to provide an aesthetic roadside.
C. PERMIT REQUIRED (Iowa Code 319.14)
A person shall not excavate, fill or make a physical change within the right-of-way of a public road or highway without obtaining a permit from the highway authority having jurisdiction of the public road or highway. Work performed under the permit shall be performed in conformity with the specifications prescribed by the highway authority. If the excavation, fill, or physical change within the right-of-way of a public road or highway does not conform to the specifications that accompany the permit the person shall be notified to make such conforming changes. If after twenty days the changes have not been made, the public road or highway authority may make the necessary changes and immediately send a statement of the cost to the responsible person. If within thirty days after sending the statement the cost is not paid, the highway authority may institute proceedings in the District Court to collect the cost of correction.
The following work when performed within the County road right-of-way shall require a permit:
1. Tile, sewer, waterline, or other pipeline crossings or repairs
2. Terrace work
3. Ponding or storing of water within the road right-of-way
4. Filling ditches
5. Cleaning or digging ditches
6. Brush and tree removal
7. Construct, enlarge, or change any entrance
8. Paving of an entrance
9. Other physical changes
D. ENTRANCES ONTO COUNTY ROADS1. Permit Required.
Anyone creating a new entrance location or any change or modification of an existing entrance onto County roads shall first be required to obtain a permit. Written approval of Washington County shall be obtained before any changes can be made to an existing entrance or construction of new entrance.
2. Payment of Costs Associated with Entrance Construction
The property owner or tenant is responsible for installation and providing all materials for the initial entrance construction or modification of existing driveways. Washington County will not provide dirt, pipe or other materials. The property owner or tenant may buy culvert pipe from the County’s stockpile. The price quoted for culvert pipe will include delivery by the County. Payment must be made before the culvert pipe will be delivered.
3. Entrance Criteria
The County Engineer or his representative will view the location and determine if there is adequate sight distance, correct slope between road and fence line, and other specific criteria determined by the County Engineer as follows:
a. Adequate sight distance along a highway in each direction from any given point of access where a vehicle must stop before entering the highway.
b. The finished surface elevation of an entrance to a County road shall initially be sloped away from the road at about a 4% slope to prevent surface water from draining onto the County road.
c. The entrance centerline lying within the right-of-way shall be at a right angle to the centerline of the road for a minimum of thirty feet from the near edge of the shoulder of the road.
4. Culvert Pipe Requirements
If the location is approved, the County Engineer or representative will determine if a culvert pipe is required, the size of opening required, and the length of culvert pipe required.
a. Type of Culvert Pipe – Culvert pipes shall be approved by the County Engineer. Used culvert pipe showing rust or having holes will not be approved. New culvert pipe shall meet IDOT standards for entrance pipe. The following new pipe are approved:
1. Corrugated metal pipe: 15" & 18" (16 gauge), 24" & 30" (14 gauge), 36" & 48" (12 gauge), and 60" (10 gauge).
2. Tied reinforced concrete pipe (2000D Class or better – no rejects)
3. PVC plastic pipe (SDR 35 or better)
4. High Q plastic pipe
b. Size of Culvert Pipe – The size of the culvert pipe will be determined by the County based on the drainage area. A 15" pipe is the smallest size culvert pipe that will be allowed.
c. Length of Culvert Pipe – The County will determine the length of culvert pipe based on the top width requested, entrance use, ditch depth and type of road being entered. The following criteria shall be followed:
1. Minimum of 16-foot entrance top required.
2. Minimum of 30-foot culvert pipe required.
3. Entrances on gravel or dirt roads shall have 3:1 side slopes.
4. Entrances on paved roads shall have 8:1 side slopes for culverts and 10:1 side slopes for dry fills.
d. Culvert Pipe Ownership – After installation, the culvert pipe shall become the property of Washington County.
5. Entrance Installation & Restrictions
a. Entrance installation shall be according to IDOT specifications.
b. Entrance fill shall be compacted by tamping or rolling.
c. No filling will be permitted in the right-of-way other than necessary to construct the proposed entrance.
d. No excavations will be made within the limits of the traveled portion of the roadway.
e. The construction, future repair or maintenance of entrances shall be carried on in such a way as not to interfere with, or interrupt traffic on the County road.
f. Private property may not be used so as to obstruct or encumber the County road right-of-way, or interfere with safety, comfort, and the use of the County roadway users.
g. The permittee shall leave the road and road right-of-way in as good as condition as it was prior to construction.
h. The permittee shall locate the proposed entrance on the ground by staking or flagging adjacent to the right-of-way line prior to the inspection conducted by the County Engineer.
i. The permittee shall give written notice of his intent to begin construction on a County road right-of-way to the County Engineer at least 48 hours prior to the commencement of said construction so that an inspection of said construction site may be conducted.
j. Nothing in this resolution shall preclude Washington County from entering upon any entrance on the road right-of-way and performing necessary maintenance for the protection of the County road.
k. Culvert pipe installation shall be guaranteed by the permittee for three years.
6. Final Approval of Entrance
The permittee shall notify the County Engineer when installation is completed. The application shall not be considered approved by Washington County until the installation is inspected and approved by the County Engineer or authorized agent. This approval must be recorded on the permit and a copy will be sent to the permittee.
7. Nonconforming Entrances
Any nonconforming entrance built after the effective date of this resolution may be removed by Washington County and the cost billed to the owner or party responsible for installing the entrance.
8. Future Maintenance
Washington County shall maintain any entrance within the right-of-way that has been installed with an approved permit. Culvert pipe installation shall be maintained by the County after the 3-year warranty period. Protecting the ends of the culvert pipe is the responsibility of the owner. Repairing crushed ends on culvert pipe will be the responsibility of the owner. When crushed ends on culvert pipe create drainage problems, the County will notify the owner to repair the culvert ends within 30 days. If the owner fails to facilitate repairs, the County may remove the entrance and culvert pipe.
9. Grandfathered Entrances
Existing approved entrances will continue to be maintained by the County. When culvert pipe replacement is necessitated, the County will furnish 30 feet of culvert pipe or the same length as removed, whichever is longer at no expense to the owner. A permit will be required if additional length of culvert pipe is requested.
10. Entrance Surfacing
Washington County will not furnish, maintain, nor pay for any driveway surfacing (gravel, oil, asphalt, or concrete). Entrance surfacing removed by the County during road construction will be replaced by the County at no expense to the owner.
11. Roadway Construction and Replacement of Entrances
Any entrances removed for road construction will be replaced by the County at no cost to the owner. Existing entrance surfacing removed will also be replaced by the County at no expense to the owner. At the request of the owner and with proper location approval, the County may construct additional entrances at the time of roadway construction with the owner responsible only for the cost of the culvert pipe.
E. REMOVAL OF ROCK FROM ROADWAYAnyone removing rock from the roadway for driveway surfacing or any other use will be billed for the material removed. Minimum billing will be for one truckload of gravel (10 ton @ $10/ton = $100).
IV. CHANGE OF ROAD CLASSIFICATIONWashington County Board of Supervisors may consider reclassifying Class "B" road to a Class "A" road as provided in Title II, Chapter 10, Washington County Code of Ordinances as follows:
1. No additional roads or streets will be accepted into the Washington County Public Road System by Washington County, Iowa.
2. Petitions for change of a Class "B" Secondary Road to Class "A" Secondary Road shall be submitted to the Board of Supervisors of Washington County, Iowa, and procedures for consideration of the proposed change shall be accomplished in accordance with Sections 10.05 and 10.06, Washington County Code of Ordinances, 1991.
3. Petitions shall be signed by affected property owners which contains the following statement: "The undersigned petitioners shall pay all costs of improving an established Class "B" road to Class "A" standards as defined in Title II, Chapter 10, Washington County Code of Ordinances, 1991, including providing adequate right-of-way for said improvements by public highway easement to Washington County, Iowa."
4. Minimum design standards shall adhere to the following typical section of a Class "A" gravel road. (Illustration available.)
5. After the road has been improved and classification has been changed, Washington County will maintain the improved road according to existing policy standards for Class "A" roads.
V. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN COMMERCIAL, INDUSTRIAL OR AGRICULTURAL BUSINESS VENTURESUpon receipt of a written petition, the Board of Supervisors of Washington County may consider changes of road classification and/or improvement of a County road for economic development and investment ventures in unincorporated parts of Washington County. The petition for such improvement shall contain the following statements:
1. The total value of a proposed commercial, industrial or agricultural business venture will be not less than $1,000,000.
2. The venture will create not less than three permanent full time jobs.
3. The petitioners agree to reimburse Washington County, Iowa for any improvements made at County expense if the petitioners do not fulfill the first two requirements within two years.
If the petition will require reclassifying a road from Class "B" to Class "A", the petition will be administered according to procedures set out in Chapter 10, Washington County Code of Ordinances, 1991, as amended.
This resolution is in full force and effect the 21st day of May 1996 and supersedes all previous resolutions in conflict herewith.
````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
SNOW & ICE REMOVAL POLICY 13.01 Purpose13.02 Level of Service
13.03 Sequence of Service
13.04 Limitation of Service
13.05 Emergency Conditions
The purpose of this ordinance is to establish Washington County’s policy and level of service in respect to clearance of snow or ice and maintenance of its secondary road system during the winter months, specifically defined as November through April, as provided in Section 668.10(2) (1995), Code of Iowa, and pursuant to the provisions of Section 309.67, Code of Iowa. This policy and level of service are to be implemented within the amount of money budgeted for this service, as contained in Washington County’s secondary road budget as submitted to and approved by the Iowa Department of Transportation and adopted by the Board of Supervisors. The clearance of roads at any cost, under any circumstances, day or night, is not the County’s policy. <Go back.> Clearance of snow or ice and maintenance of the secondary road system during the winter months is primarily for the benefit of the local residents of Washington County. Each storm has individual characteristics and must be dealt with accordingly. The portion of the roadway improved for travel will have upon it snow and ice in a compacted condition. These conditions may be continuous, or they may be more concentrated on hills, in valleys, curves, and/or intersections. The County’s existing snow removal equipment and personnel will be utilized for this purpose. On occasion County personnel may be rendered unavailable due to the requirements of the Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act of 1991. Except for "emergencies" as determined by the County Engineer’s professional judgment, or his designee acting in his absence, on a case by case basis, all clearance of snow and ice, sanding, salting, and other maintenance respecting winter conditions shall be accomplished within the amount of money budgeted for this service and as practicable. The entire width of that portion of the road improved for travel may not be cleared of snow, ice, compacted snow and ice, or frost. Snow cleared from that part of the roadway improved for travel shall be placed on or in the adjacent shoulder, ditch, or right-of-way. Snow can be expected to accumulate adjacent to the traveled portion to the extent that a motorist’s sight distance to both the left and right may be greatly reduced or impaired. The snow removed from intersections will be piled in its corners in piles of unequal height. The lines of sight, sight distance, or visibility of motorists approaching these intersections may be greatly reduced or impaired. The County shall not be responsible for snow pushed or otherwise placed on the roadway or shoulders by others. Motorists shall drive their vehicles during these conditions with additional caution and watchfulness, especially in respect to the surface of the roadway, and reduced or impaired visibility, and are advised to reduce their speed at least 25 miles per hour below that legally permitted or advised under normal conditions. In respect to roadways that have only one lane open, further extreme watchfulness and caution should be exercised by the motorist, and their speed should not exceed 10 miles per hour. During these conditions, no additional warning or regulatory signs will be placed warning of impaired sight distances, visibility at intersections, road blockages, one-lane conditions, or that the road surface is slick or slippery, or what the advised speed should be. <Go back.> In the implementation of snow and ice removal and other maintenance of the County’s secondary road system during the winter months, the County engineer or his designee shall select the actual sequence of roads to be cleared on a case by case basis as provided for in this section of this chapter, and shall determine when drifting, wind velocity, and additional snow or snowstorms require that the snow removal equipment be removed from the roadway, or that additional clearance of paved routes be accomplished prior to the clearance of unpaved roads. The Washington County Secondary Road Department regular working hours are 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM each day exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays observed by Washington County Employees. The County Engineer or his designee may analyze the severity and individual characteristics of each storm to determine the most efficient working hours for implementing and accomplishing the snow and ice removal policy. This may mean extending the regular working hours by starting earlier and/or working later than the regular operation hours. The implementation and accomplishment of the snow and ice removal policy will not normally be extended to include operations between the hours of 5:00 PM and 5:00 AM. There is no time limit after a snowstorm in which any of the following sequence of clearance, on paved or unpaved roads, shall take place. Neither is there an obligation of the County in performing such operations when lack of visibility or driver fatigue, in the professional judgment of the County Engineer or his designee, may cause hazardous working conditions. The County Engineer’s professional judgment, or his designee’s, shall prevail, unless it is clearly erroneous. 1. Paved routes. A. The initial effort will be to get all routes open to two-lane traffic as soon as possible or practicable. During initial snow removal operation, paved roads may only have one lane plowed for a period of time. Extended operation hours may be used to accomplish this sequence of service. B. After two-lane travel is possible, subsequent snow removal will be carried on during regular working hours. C. The truck mounted snowplows and spreaders may be called off the road if snow and/or blowing snow reduces visibility to hazardous working conditions, in the professional judgment of the County Engineer or his designee. D. When required, due to drifting snow, motor graders may be used to keep the paved roads open and the opening of gravel roads may be delayed. E. It is not the policy of the County to provide a "dry" pavement condition. F. After roads have been plowed as provided in this section, intersections, hills, curves, and portions of the roadway as deemed necessary by the County Engineer or his designee, may, but not necessarily, have placed on them, salt, sand or other abrasive. These areas may not be resanded, resalted, or have other abrasives replaced on them between snowstorms. This sequence of service will normally be performed during regular working hours. 2. Unpaved roads. A. The initial effort will be to get one-lane traffic open to all occupied residences on Level A routes as soon as possible and/or practicable after a storm has passed. Extended operation hours may be used to accomplish this sequence of service. B. After one-lane travel is possible to all occupied residences, subsequent snow removal will be carried on during regular working hours. C. Unpaved roads may not be plowed if the wind is causing continual drifting. The motor graders and/or other snow removal equipment may be called off the road if snow and blowing reduces visibility to hazardous working conditions, in the professional judgment of the County Engineer or his designee. Generally, snow will be plowed to the south and east to reduce drifting across the roadway by the prevailing north and west winds. D. Snow and ice will not be removed from roads designated as Level B or Level C. The County, at its option, may plow a Level B road if it is the most efficient route for snow removal equipment to get to other Level A roads. 3. Private Drives, Street and Roads. The County will not clear snow from private drives, streets and roads. Normal snow removal operations may result in snow being deposited in private drives, streets and roads. Snow from private drives, streets and roads shall not be placed on the roadway or shoulders. 4. Mailboxes and Fences. The County will assume no liability for mailboxes and fences damaged because of snow removal unless such action can be determined to be malicious. The County will not repair or replace mailboxes or fences damages or knocked down by snow removal operations or by the force of snow thrown from the plow. <Go back.> Notwithstanding anything else stated in this chapter, the policy and level of service provided for in this chapter shall not include the following, and the following services shall not be performed: 1. Sanding, salting, or placing of other abrasives upon the roadway that are slick, slippery, and dangerous due to the formation of frost. 2. Sanding, salting, or placing other abrasive upon paved roadways due to freezing precipitation that occurs outside the County’s regular working hours. 3. Placing of additional warning or regulatory signs warning of impaired sight distances, visibility at intersections, road blockages, on-lane conditions, or that the road surface is slick or slippery, or what the advised speed should be. 4. Sanding, salting or placing abrasives upon any road, except for paved roads. If in the opinion of the County Engineer, or his designee, an "emergency" exists and ice has built up on hills and intersections on the unpaved system so as to become dangerous, abrasive material may be applied at these locations as crew and equipment availability allows and only as a last resort. This condition will not, under any circumstances, take a higher priority than placing of abrasive material on the paved road system and will only be done after the paved roads are cleared of ice and snow. Abrasive material will also only be placed after other mechanical means have been tried and failed, such as scraping with motor graders. 5. Resanding or resalting for freezing and thawing between snowstorms. 6. Removing of sand, salt or other abrasives. <Go back.> 1. The County Engineer or his designee may suspend the level of service or sequence of service during what they believe in their professional judgment to be "emergency" conditions. An "emergency" condition shall be considered as one where loss of life is probable, where a serious injury has occurred, or where extensive loss of property is imminent. These conditions should be verified through the 911 dispatcher or Sheriff’s Office. The County may respond to all "emergency" conditions, either during or after a snowstorm. Any person who makes a false report of an "emergency" to an officer, official, or employee of Washington County or who causes a false report to be so made shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine of not more than $100.00 or imprisonment of not more than 30 days in the County jail. 2. The provisions of this chapter shall be further suspended in the event the Governor, by proclamation, implements the State Disaster Plan, or the Chairperson of the Board of Supervisor, by proclamation, implement the County Disaster Plan. If such occurs, the County personnel and equipment shall be immediately subject tot he direction of the Governor or the Chairperson of the Board of Supervisors.`````````````````````````````````````````````````````