Latest stretch of MRT nearing completion along County Road X52

by Kelli Boylen

freelance writer

The idea of a bike trail the entire length of the Mississippi River sounded absurd to many when it was first announced in 2000, but soon-to-be-completed work on County Road X52, south of Harpers Ferry, means more than half of the 36 miles of river road trail will be completed in Allamakee County.

Allamakee County Engineer Brian Ridenour says this summer’s work to widen and resurface X52, known to many as the “Harpers Blacktop,” was the biggest and most expensive County Secondary Road Department project ever done in Allamakee County. This portion of X52 runs 6.3 miles from Highway 76 to Harpers Ferry.

The County only paid about $300,000 of the $5 million project; a typical annual budget for the Allamakee County Secondary Roads Department is $6 million. A majority of the funds came from federal monies secured by Senator Chuck Grassley, as well as some state recreation trail dollars.

County Road X52 had two 12-foot traffic lanes with granular (gravel) shoulders. The renovated county highway now has two 11-foot traffic lanes with paved six-foot shoulders on both sides to be used as a bike trail, a total width of 34 feet.

The Mississippi River Trail, known as MRT, is a nationwide initiative. Here in Allamakee County, the portion of the trail along Iowa Highway 26 running ten miles from Lansing to New Albin was completed with state and federal money four years ago. The three-mile stretch on X52 north of Harpers Ferry from Red Oak Road into town was completed way back in 1980, and work is now wrapping up on the 6.3 miles of X52 south of Harpers Ferry.

The asphalt was recycled the entire length of X52 for this summer’s project, meaning it was ground up and repaved, and then hot mix asphalt was applied on the top. Typically, a road surface done this way will last 12 to 15 years before major maintenance is needed, Ridenour said.

In conjunction with the many tons of dirt placed for the road widening and the asphalt resurfacing, the pipe culverts and box culverts had to be extended. Existing bridges were of sufficient width to accommodate the shoulder trail.

It had been more than 12 years since any major work was done on this road. X52, formerly known as Iowa Highway 364, was a state highway until 2004 when the County took over per the State’s request.

The remaining highways in Allamakee County which will be widened for the addition of a bike trail will be more of a challenge, Ridenour admitted. The 11 miles from Lansing to Harpers Ferry that will need to be done have some “very confined corridors and will be very difficult to widen,” as will be the 6.5 miles from the intersection of X52 to Marquette.  But, Ridenour said ten years ago when the ambitious project was first discussed he never would have thought there would be almost 19 miles of the MRT completed in Allamakee County by this time.

Ridenour says throughout the planning and construction of MRT in Allamakee County, the County Board of Supervisors, County Conservation Board, County Economic Development, and RC&D have all played a role.

The 6.3-mile stretch that was worked on this summer was chosen due to a segment that would have the biggest positive impact for the County; there being many permanent and seasonal properties adjoining the highway, parks, boat ramps, campgrounds, fishing areas, and just being so close to all the other Mississippi River amenities.

The project, headed up by Mathy Construction of Onalaska, WI, started in May. It was originally planned to be completed by October, but things started slowly due to a wet spring, and the heavy rains June 21-23 caused washouts, mudslides and rockslides.

Cooler and wetter than usual weather this November also slowed the end of the project as temperatures need to be warm enough in order to properly do the asphalt work, which was completed November 20. Currently, crews are scrambling before winter sets in to get the additional dirt road fore slopes built, road signs back up, seeding/mulching, guardrails, and mailboxes back in place.

Ridenour acknowledged many people were inconvenienced by the project this summer, including traffic delays and having to pick up their mail at the post office, but “it will be a nice improvement to the area; it’s definitely going to be a safer roadway," he said.

Laura Olson of Allamakee County Economic Development said although their office is supportive of the MRT and played an instrumental role in securing funding for it, they have not yet started to promote the trail. “Once the trail is continuous (all 36 miles) in Allamakee County, we will be ready to advertise and promote it,” she said.

Olson added that she hopes work will continue on the trails here within the next few years. “We have the prettiest part of the Mississippi River right here in Allamakee County.”