Des Moines County: Highway 99 milling, Tama Road closure and other road work to continue; crews to work into evenings

Des Moines County roads staff told the Board of Supervisors that milling on Highway 99 is underway and will likely be a multi-week operation, and that crews will shift to 7 Ponds Road and other approaches as work progresses.

County roads staff said the Tama Road closure affects about a quarter-mile and will inconvenience roughly three weeks for residents in the area; a gravel detour is available. "We are gonna do kind of a tier 2 dust control ... in front of houses and intersections," the staff member said, adding that the work should be "roughly a 3 week project."

The staff member said crews are aiming to minimize disruption but will work long hours to finish sooner. "They won't be quitting at 5 going forward. These crews will work till dark if they can, and that's the way it's gonna be," the staff member said, adding that shorter traffic-control setups in Kingston were keeping vehicles moving well.

The board heard that South Ferry Road work is complete, that bridge work should see more concrete poured in the coming week, and that approaches to the Gear Bridge may be started if schedules allow. The staff member said pavement markings were finished late Friday on a completed stretch and praised the riding surface as "a big improvement over what we had."

County staff also noted they had sent letters to property owners near Tama Road and will apply targeted dust-control treatments for homes and intersections on the detour route. Residents who raised earlier complaints about evening work were told crews will continue past 5 p.m. when needed to reduce the overall project duration.

The update was delivered during routine department reports; no separate formal action was taken on the projects at the meeting.