By Tara Brandl
While flooding has been a consistent problem at the Wheels Across the Prairie Museum in the past, action by the Lyon County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday might be bringing some much needed relief this spring. The board on Tuesday approved funding in the amount of $14,610 to be used for the improvement project.
County Ditch 36 was originally built in 1916 and a lot of it is located under U.S. Highway 14. It was built before Hwy. 14 existed. In approximately 1996, there was a structure put into County Ditch 36 that created a better outlet; there have been no improvements to the ditch, only repairs. The project will include boring under the road and installing private tile to tie into County Ditch 36 and that outlet. The plan calls for installing an eight-inch, non-perforated tile.
“Wheels Across the Prairie has had a lot of drainage issues in the past and they’ve done a lot of building up of structures and upgrades out there,” Lyon County Planning and Zoning Administrator John Biren said. “Since funding has been used for some of these structures, there is concern about the water damage that can occur out there. This project would provide them an outlet to adequately drain the buildings around there.”
The project would not change the benefits of the ditch, and the Wheels Across the Prairie Museum does pay benefits for County Ditch 36. In addition, there is an easement that the project would go across. Biren has already talked to the landowner for the property they’d need to go across and the landowner is fully supportive of the project.
See this week’s Headlight Herald for more on this article.