Maintenance

Roads
The Secondary Road Department maintains approximately 400 miles of granular and 200 miles of hard surfaced roads. Excluded from the county system are roads located within corporate city limits, private roads, and state highways.

Snow Removal
Each storm has individual characteristics and must be dealt with accordingly. The initial effort will be made to get all routes open to one-lane traffic as soon as possible and/or practical. Details of the snow removal operations can be found in the snow removal ordinance (PDF).

Ditch Cleaning
The county cleans ditches to maintain and improve roadway drainage. Ditches are also used for snow storage during the winter. Requests for ditch cleaning have developed a lengthy backlog and are prioritized based on impact to the road. Property owners may apply for an alteration of right-of-way permit to be allowed to clean their own ditch. Please see the permits page for more information.

Weed Commissioner
To improve safety and visibility along Muscatine County roads, the Secondary Road Department controls the growth of weeds by mowing and spraying, along with clearing brush and trees from the right-of-way on an as-needed basis. The Weed Commissioner is responsible for controlling noxious weeds within the right-of-way of the county road system, and also responds to complaints regarding noxious weeds on private lands. To report issues regarding noxious weeds, please call the Weed Commissioner at 563-263-6351, ext. 109.