When officials in Quasqueton proposed a new bridge over the Wapsipinicon River, they were required to survey and relocate the local mussel population before construction could begin. However, due to consistently high water levels, the survey has yet to be conducted, and has now been delayed until until after the bridge is built.

The compromise between the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Buchanan County supervisors was reached after extreme rainfall created impracticable conditions for the survey.

The survey will now occur after construction, assessing the bridge’s effects on the mussels. The damage is expected to be low; an earlier survey conducted upstream from Quasqueton found very few mussels.

To learn more about the bridge and how it will affect the mussels, click here.