(Spirit Lake)– A unique landscaping project is taking place along Highway nine in western Dickinson county.
Phil Spencer of the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Cherokee office tells KUOO news it consists of planting native prairie grasses and wild flowers along the Highway nine right-of-way from the Osceola county line east to the west junction of Highway 71 in Spirit Lake.
Spencer says site preparation and planting will continue through the summer. He says it will take several years for the plantings to become established.
Spencer says once the planting is done, crews will do several mowings and spot-spray for weeds.
Northwest Landscaping of Hull is the general contractor on the project.
Spencer says similar roadside landscape projects have been conducted over the past five years in other parts of the state, including highway nine in the Ocheyedan area; highway seven; and highway four in Pocahontas county.
