County Officials Addressing Truck Traffic Concerns On 195th Street

Mills County officials say they’re aware of the safety concerns the public has about large trucks hauling dirt on 195th Street from a borrow pit at an old quarry in western Mills County to the Google data center construction site in Pottawattamie County.

Mills County Engineer Jacob Ferro and Mills County Sheriff Greg Schultz both addressed the matter at last week’s regular meeting of the Mills County Board Of Supervisors. Ferro and Schultz both acknowledged a severe injury accident that had occurred on 195th and some other collisions closer to Bunge Ave. 195th Street runs parallel to Interstate 29 at the foot of the Loess Hills.

“Our office has been getting a lot of phone calls coming in, primarily it’s been dirt on the road and the most recent one saying the trucks aren’t stopping at the stop sign up at Bunge or not stopping when they come out onto 195th,” Ferro told county supervisors. “I had a meeting yesterday, (County Sheriff Greg Schultz) was there, the county attorneys, and (Assistant Engineer Kevin Mayberry) from my office and just kind of brainstormed how to really tackle this. Matt Wyatt (planning and zoning consultant) was also there.”

Ferro said signage warning of the construction zone and advising motorists to travel no more 35 mph have been posted.

Schultz said his office has fielded multiple calls from the public about the truck traffic and build-up of dirt on the road surface.

“We’re getting complaints from the public – dust storms, whatever you want to call them – when people drive through them,” he said. “We just had a fairly major crash out there on 195th.”

The county has initiated a public awareness campaign, primarily on social media, to make residents aware of the traffic hazards on 195th St. and is also pursuing a traffic study with cooperation of the private companies involved to determine the impact the increased truck traffic is having.

“Let’s see if we can have them do a traffic study for us to show that the increased traffic around those borrow pits is creating a safety hazard,” Ferro said.

He added that one possibility would be to have a worker stationed at the truck exit to 195th St. to ensure drivers are obeying the stop sign.

Schultz said discussions involving county officials and representatives of the companies involved in the dirt extraction and transport have been productive.

“Everybody’s been very responsive to have people come in, sit in, and be part of these (discussions), plus what in other conversations outside of here and yesterday,” he said. “I don’t see where this doesn’t come to a fairly quick resolution. I think it will be good for everybody throughout the group.”