COUNTY -- Crews begin working last week on the Highway 59 Westphalia turn-off project and finished the project on Saturday. The upgrade to the intersection has been a long-time coming. Dating back to last October, Shelby County had been working to secure making the Highway 59/County Road F32 intersection more safe. The project materialized as an agreement was made between Shelby County and the Iowa Department of Transportation to share in costs. The county's portion was up to $75,000, with the state picking up the balance of the roughly $150,000 cost. Westphalia-area residents had made the request to the IDOT nearly two years ago, asking that the intersection be changed to make sure there is not a fatality accident at the corner. Skid marks and barreling trucks that slam on the brakes are commonplace, they said. A petition with 340 signatures was presented to the DOT for consideration of an intersection upgrade. A year later, an agreement was reached on costs. The project includes the elimination of a southbound acceleration lane, and development of a turning lane heading northbound and turning west onto F32. Above, crews work on the turning lane project. (Photo by Alan Mores)
