Sheldon, Iowa — Concrete finishers were heavily damaged by hay bales on Friday, June 30th.
The O’Brien County Sheriff’s Office reports that at 9:25 am on Friday, 71-year-old Harvy Driesen of Rock Valley was driving a 2001 Freightliner pulling a flat bed trailer carrying bales on Highway 18 entering a construction zone east of Sheldon. According to the report, at Oak Hill Avenue and Highway 18 there is an orange sign stating “Wide Loads over 10′ 6″ exit here”. Then “Road work ahead 35 mph” “Restricted width ahead 10′ 6” then “One lane road ahead” then signs indicating a traffic signal ahead, then a temporary traffic signal and cones shifting traffic to the left lane to alternate on the north side of the bridge. Construction workers were preparing a concrete finisher on the south side of the bridge. The semi had wide load banners on his truck and red flags on the corners of his truck and load. The hay bales were loaded with slightly more overhang on the passengers side of the trailer than the drivers side. When the Freightliner crossed the bridge the hay bales on the passengers side of the truck impacted the concrete finisher. The hay bales were measured at 11 feet wide on the front of the truck and 10 feet 8 inches at the rear.
The Freightliner and trailer received $10.00 damage. The concrete finishers received $50,000 damage.
Driesen was cited for Failure To Obey A Traffic Control Device.
No injuries were reported.
