Webster County Engineer Jamie Johll says the equipment and specialized rollers are part of a $1.25 million grant-funded study that focuses on the subsurface conditions of gravel roads along Iowa’s U.S. Highway 20 corridor.

“This project is important because the data will allow us to identify the weakest subgrade locations and proactively schedule maintenance and improvement activities,” said Johll. “It will help us predict which segments of road will perform poorly and might even allow us to predict where frost boils will occur.”

Ingios Geotechnics, of Lakeville, Minnesota, will have roller equipment traveling all 879 miles of Webster County gravel roads. The project is expected to take approximately three weeks.

The rollers are outfitted with specialized equipment and sensors similar to ground penetrating radar. The data from those sensors will be stored and processed on servers at the Iowa County Engineers Association Service Bureau.

“We can then use the data to identify weak sections of road and help guide future maintenance activities,” said Johll.

According to Johll, if a driver happens to come upon one of the three rollers while on a gravel road, treat them as any other slow moving vehicle and reduce speed and proceed with caution. The rollers will not take up both lanes, so it may be possible to pass them if conditions allow.