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| 7/10/2010 7:53:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article | City attempts to address traffic problems due to Geneva St. project
Nancy B. Jacobson
CORRESPONDENT
Complaints about poor access to businesses and drivers confused by detour routes has Elkhorn city officials looking for ways to improve traffic problems created by the E. Geneva Street reconstruction project.
Officials have asked the contractor to improve a temporary access road and place additional signs in the construction zone. However, with a new concrete surface more than a week away, the message to motorists from the Common Council and city staff is to "please obey the construction signs and follow the detour."
Since the project began June 25, the street has been open only to local traffic. The use of concrete in the project has precluded a one-lane closure. The detour for through traffic is from Geneva Street to Getzen Street to Centralia Street to County Highway H and back to Geneva Street. Access to Elkhorn Area High School is through the fairgrounds.
The only access to businesses is a narrow temporary road. The condition of that road has drawn the greatest scrutiny from the city.
City Administrator Sam Tapson told aldermen at Tuesday's council meeting that he toured the site with City Engineer Gary Welsh and Police Chief Joel Christensen after receiving complaints from business owners in the Elkhorn Business Park.
"The access road to the business park is pretty poor," Tapson said. "The access road is part of the bid and we told the contractor (Mann Brothers) to improve it."
Chief Christensen said more barricades and signs were added to alert motorists of the detour. Police have had to monitor the construction site to keep motorists from entering in the wrong areas and traveling through the construction site rather than to businesses in the park.
"People need to pay attention to the signage," Tapson said. "It doesn't absolve the city of the project's difficulties, but when it says do not enter, they should obey and follow the detour. Only those traveling to the high school or strip mall should enter."
"Local traffic doesn't mean that you live in Elkhorn," Alderman Scott McClory added.
Access to businesses and the school is expected to improve once the concrete is poured. Tapson said the contractor expects to pour by the end of the week. The concrete will need a minimum of seven days to cure.
The scheduled completion for the reconstruction is August 20.
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