The Iowa Department of Transportation is proposing to reconstruct Iowa 3, from just south of Co Rd C9Y in Sageville to 0.7 mile north of Boy Scout Rd, in Dubuque County. To facilitate this project, the Iowa Department of Transportation is proposing to temporarily close a portion of the Heritage Trail and access to the Pohlman Prairie Preserve.
The Heritage Trail and Pohlman Prairie Preserve are publicly owned and operated by Dubuque County Conservation. The proposed roadway reconstruction project will improve drainage and slope stabilization along the roadway as well as the Heritage Trail and Pohlman Prairie. To facilitate this work, the portion of the Heritage Trail that parallels Iowa 3, from Clay Hill Road to Burton Furnace Road, will be temporarily closed during construction of the project. During this closure a detour will be provided along Burton Furnace Road, which will be improved to meet trail standards. In addition, the access to the Pohlman Prairie Preserve will be closed while the adjacent portion of Iowa 3 is reconstructed. During this time, there will be disruptions of access to the preserve. The project will take two construction seasons to complete.
Both the Heritage Trail and Pohlman Prairie Preserve have been determined to be Section 4(f) resources and the project is expected to have de minimis impact on the area.
Section 4(f) of the U.S. Department of Transportation Act of 1966 was enacted as a means of protecting publicly owned parks, recreation areas, and wildlife/waterfowl refuges, as well as historic sites of local, state, or national significance from conversion to transportation uses. De minimis impacts are defined as those that, after consideration of any measure(s) to minimize harm (such as avoidance, minimization, mitigation, or enhancement measures), do not adversely affect the activities, features, and attributes of the Section 4(f) resource.
See updates and leave public comment on this project at https://www.news.iowadot.gov/pim/2022/01/proposed-iowa-3-project-impacting-the-heritage-trail-and-pohlman-prairie-in-dubuque-county.html
