Allamakee County Engineer discusses heavy traffic impact with Winneshiek County Board of Supervisors

by Lissa Blake

One trip by one overloaded sand truck can equal the impact of 19,000 cars.
That’s according to Allamakee County Engineer Brian Ridenour, who presented a number of road impact considerations and available funding options to the Winneshiek County Board of Supervisors Monday, September 22 as part of the Board’s fact finding during an 18-month moratorium on frac-sand mining in the county. A handful of people attended the presentation in the large courtroom at the Winneshiek County Courthouse in Decorah.
Allamakee County recently passed a countywide ordinance restricting the mining of frac sand or silica sand used in other states to extract natural gas and oil through a process called hydraulic fracturing. Winneshiek County’s 18-month moratorium was passed in June 2013 and is set to expire at the end of December.
Ridenour explained that in addition to frac-sand mining there are a number of other industries and developments that involve a substantial amount of heavy traffic. He cited coal plants, ethanol plants, biodiesel plants, wind farms, frac-sand processing plants, concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), housing, fertilizer plants and more.

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