By MATT MILNER

Courier staff writer

OTTUMWA — One month ago, Wapello County was concerned about whether the roads were becoming mud traps. Now there’s another problem.

The supervisors said Tuesday they are generally pleased with the efforts to get new rock onto the roads. The old gravel surfaces submerged when unusually heavy snow and ice combined with several fast melts to flood roads throughout southeast Iowa. The mud turned roads into treacherous paths with ruts up to a foot deep.

New rock restores the road surfaces, but it also adds new dust. Traffic on the new rock kicks up clouds of dust that hang in the air and makes conditions dangerous for drivers who can’t see other vehicles. Supervisor Jerry Parker said he ran into those conditions during a recent drive between Ottumwa and Chillicothe.

County Engineer Brian Moore said he wants to start getting ahead of the dust problems and needs some help from county residents. People will need to apply for dust control permits if they want to use a private contractor this year.

The permits are free. Moore said the county just needs to get a handle on what is happening where.

“This is all independent [of the county]. This is people who contract. There are a couple of contractors in the area who will apply the tree sap or calcium chloride,” Moore said.

The first deadline is May 16. A second, summer deadline comes on July 15.

The county will continue with its own efforts at dust control. Road crews will prepare for the first application in the last two weeks of May, and the contractor will apply dust control in the first two weeks of June.

“These are just some general dates. We’re still working with the applicators,” Moore said.

Supervisor Steve Siegel asked Moore whether the county will complete re-rocking of all its roads this year. Moore said that isn’t possible with the scale of the problems. County supervisors declared the area a disaster earlier this spring in hopes of tapping state and federal aid for the project.

The board did question Moore’s anticipation of October as the time for winter preparations. Warm weather lingered into November in recent years. Moore responded that he is aware that a repeat will require extension of summer efforts.

There are also changes for the county’s trails. The supervisors voted earlier this spring to give $30,000 to the American Gothic Trail in Eldon. They thought the money would come from the $200,000 the county received from the state for trails improvements.

The Iowa Department of Transportation said that can’t happen. Siegel said a conference call with the DOT indicated the state needs a separate agreement with Eldon for the money, and will reduce the allocation to Wapello County by $30,000 to cover the funding.