Road improvements on the horizon

Motorists drive through the U.S. Highway 69-23rd Street intersection Wednesday afternoon. The intersection is slated to get some improvements including raised medians and access point restrictions. An open house will be held from 4-6 p.m. on Oct. 27 at Fort Scott City Hall, 123 S. Main St., so those affected can ask questions about that project and another set of improvements set for the Highway 69-18th Street/South National Avenue intersection. (Michael Pommier/Tribune)

Big changes will be coming to two busy U.S. 69 intersections, and community input is being sought.

An open house is scheduled for 4-6 p.m. on Oct. 27 at Fort Scott City Hall, 123 S. Main St., to answer questions and hear comments and concerns from residents regarding the proposed improvements to U.S. Highway 69's intersections with 23rd Street and 18th Street/South National Avenue. The occasion is being hosted by the city of Fort Scott and Kansas Department of Transportation.

While there will be no formal presentation during the open house, the public is encouraged to attend and meet with representatives of the projects' engineering firm, Centennial, Colo.-based Felsburg Holt & Ullevig, and view conceptual plans for the two intersections.

A local motorist waits to make a right turn onto U.S. Highway 69 at the intersection of Highway 69 and 18th Street/South National Avenue Wednesday afternoon. The intersection is slated to get some improvements, including widening the highway to accommodate a turn lane. An open house will be held from 4-6 p.m. on Oct. 27 at Fort Scott City Hall, 123 S. Main St., to answer questions about that project and another set of improvements slated for the Highway 69-23rd Street intersection.(Michael Pommier/Tribune)

With construction slated to begin in the spring of 2013, Kyle Anderson, principal engineer for Felsburg Holt & Ullevig, said the open house is a way to listen to the concerns from those who will be impacted the most by the changes during the early stages of the planning process.

"What we want to hear at this point in the process is what (property owners') concerns are about the proposed improvements on the highway and what type of things we might be able to incorporate to be able to give them the access that they need," Anderson said.

The two projects were identified as high priority projects in the U.S. Highway 69 Corridor Management Plan, completed by the engineering firm in January 2010 because of the high number of vehicle crashes in the area. According to the plan, the Highway 69 and 23rd Street intersection had the highest number of wrecks in the 2004-2007 study period with 32 crashes. During that same time frame, the intersection of U.S. Highwaya 69 and 18th Street/South National Avenue ranked third with 18 total crashes.

"The purpose of these projects is to improve the access management along the highway and clean up some of those locations where you've got people that can make turns in and out of driveways too close to the busy intersections," Anderson said.

According to a press release, proposed improvements to the two intersections include:

* U.S. Highway 69 and 18th Street/South National Avenue: The proposed improvements at this intersection consist of widening the highway to provide a northbound left turn lane, and reconstruction of South National Avenue from just south of 18th Street to the intersection with the highway.

* U.S. Highway 69 and 23rd Street: The proposed improvements to this intersection consist of adding raised medians on the highway approaches to 23rd Street to restrict access near the intersection to right-in/right-out movements. The 23rd Street approaches to the highway will be also widened to provide separate left turn lanes. The traffic signal equipment will also be upgraded at this intersections.

Anderson said more meetings will be held as the project designs are developed and a final concept nears.

"We really are interested to hear the public's opinion," Anderson said. "It's an opportunity to try and make a safer situation (and) also make sure we're taking into account, the best we can, the needs of those businesses that may be affected by the project."