Leader Photo by Tim Ryan City Alderman John Hoeffs and Dennis Heling of Shawano County Economic Progress, Inc. were among the roughly two dozen people at City Hall Tuesday who viewed design options presented by the Department of Transportation for planned improvements to Airport Drive.
State transportation officials were in Shawano on Tuesday to offer two options for planned improvements to Airport Drive slated to take place in 2016, but it was clear their preferred option would take the four-lane road down to two lanes.
The Department of Transportation is planning significant repairs to the road, along with some infrastructure replacement, between state Highway 29 and Green Bay Street.
The improvements will require some configuration changes to address safety concerns and bring the road up to state highway standards.
Airport Drive was originally constructed as a city street to provide industrial park access before state Highway 47-55 was overlaid onto it as part of the Highway 29 bypass project.
Among the road’s deficiencies are lanes that are too narrow — 10 feet instead of the standard 12 for highways — and a lack of shoulder area between the lanes and the curb.
City officials met with the DOT last month to raise their concerns about the heavy truck traffic making use of Airport Drive and encouraged the state to keep it a four-lane route to keep traffic flowing smoothly.
Many of the two dozen residents who attended Tuesday’s meeting had the same concerns.
However, DOT project manager Jim Volkmann and representatives of the engineering firm consulting on the project came prepared to show how the two-lane option would address traffic issues and solve some safety problems.
Dedicated left-turn lanes would be added at three intersections — Beauprey Road, Richmond Street and Green Bay Street — addressing fears that traffic would otherwise be brought to a standstill to allow for turning.
The turn lanes would also allow access to properties along the road.
An additional turn-out lane was also discussed as a possible means of keeping traffic flowing around school buses required to stop at the railroad crossing.
A two-lane configuration would also allow for a four-way stop sign at County Road B.
Jim Wendels, consultant project manager with Quest Civil Engineers, of Wisconsin Rapids, said a four-way stop at County Road B would be unworkable with a four-lane highway because of the confusion it could create and also because the signs would have to be placed too far off to the side to be effective.
Volkmann said the two-lane option would also slow traffic to the posted 45 mph speed limit, which, he said, is routinely disobeyed.
He said the current four-lane encourages motorists to push the speed limit to get ahead of the vehicle in the next lane.
With one lane of travel in each direction, there’d be no point to that, “because everyone is going the same speed,” he said.
No change in the speed limit is planned.
“I like some aspects of the two-lane option, safety-wise,” said Eddie Sheppard, Shawano Public Works coordinator, after the meeting.
He said safety is a top priority, along with making sure the chosen option is a good fit for industrial use.
Officials say the Airport Drive project is needed because of the deteriorating condition of the road, which is showing signs of severe cracking, potholes, rutting and an uneven surface.
The existing storm sewer system, culvert pipes, curb and gutter, signage and pavement markings are also in need of either repair or replacement, according to the DOT.
The DOT is projecting a construction start of March 2016 in hopes of being wrapped up by July. A detour would be needed while the road is shut down.
Another public meeting would be held this fall on a date still to be determined.