RRVT Bridge that was damaged in March of 2019. Photo courtesy of GC Conservation

Over one year ago, part of a bridge on the Raccoon River Valley Trail collapsed in Greene County, along with a couple of boat accesses on the river, due to ice jams.

Since then, Greene County Conservation has been working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and were approved for 85-percent of the repairs to all of the damaged structures. However, Conservation Director Dan Towers believes FEMA has been involved in the current COVID-19 pandemic and the bridge project has been put on hold. He points out work is starting on the two damaged boat access points at Squirrel Hollow Park and McMahon Access. 

Towers notes the McMahon Access will be moved to a new location.

“There’s some ground north of Highway 30 where the county gravel pit is, known as Black Pit. There’s a stretch of the river there that’s really ideal for a boat ramp. There’s access that the County (Secondary) Road crew uses to get to the gravel piles. So the access road and parking is already there. Is just a matter of putting the ramp in there. So we’ve got FEMA funds to do that, they approved moving that location two miles upstream.”

Towers adds, the boat ramp in the new location will be on Iowa Department of Natural Resources property, while the access road and parking are on county-owned property. He hopes to have both boat ramps completed later this summer and to have the bridge open by next year.