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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBTSCMinutes_2014_09_08Brookings Transportation Steering Committee September 8, 2014 The Brookings Transportation Steering Committee meeting was held at 3:00 p.m. on Monday, September 8, 2014 at Brookings City & County Government Center with the following members present: Keith Corbett, Daryl Englund, Al Baker, Jacob Mills, Jim Morgan, Les Rowland and Michael Bartley. Bob Hill and Jason Harms were absent. Others present included: City Manager Jeff Weldon and Engineering Office Manager Lana Schwartz. Chair Corbett called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. Approval of minutes. Motion made by Mills, seconded by Baker, to approve the August 25, 2014 minutes. All present voted yes, motion carried. Discussion of Highway 14 By-Pass Project (final recommendation) Corbett followed up with the committee regarding the recommendation proposal that Englund had prepared to be sent to the City Council. Mills recommended that they note that there will be temporary signal lights on the bypass during the construction of Sixth Street from 22nd Avenue to 34th Avenue. It will cost approximately $260,000.00 for the temporary lights and the additional embankment to accommodate three lanes. The roundabout construction will cost $1,600,000.00 versus the upgrade to a new 3 lane bridge costing $1,960,000.00. An email had been received from the implement dealers with concern about the width of the current bridge. If the DOT decides to construct the roundabouts, the bridge will remain the same at the 28’ width. Consensus of the committee is that the focus on this project isn’t the bridge width and it should be. The narrow bridge is a safety concern and the recommendation to the City Council needs to state that this committee is concerned about this. Baker wondered if going with the 3 lane bridge and pushing all the other projects back a year would be a better option. Weldon stated that the design work for this project is near the end, and this committee should focus on the future projects and not so much on this one. Englund will make some minor changes to the proposal so it can go to the City Council for the next meeting. A motion was made by Bartley, seconded by Englund to recommend the City move forward with accepting the Highway 14 By-Pass roundabout proposal, as presented by the SDDOT, but take into account widening of the bridge to eliminate the safety concerns regarding the bridge width. Bartley, Corbett, Mills, and Morgan voted yes. Baker, Englund, Rowland voted no. Motion carried. Discussion of Highway 14 (6th Street from 22nd Avenue to 34th Avenue) Weldon provided updated plans, with revisions, to the committee. On the south side of the 22nd Avenue and 6th Street intersection, there will be 7 lanes. ITC will not need to relocate as the DOT has found a way around this. This intersection will be closed for a period of time during the summer of 2016. The detour route south during this time will be to take Sunrise Ridge Road east and north to 22nd Avenue. The north detour route has not been determined yet. The state would like to give back some of the frontage roads to the City. Weldon stated that if this were to happen, significant amounts of this space would be converted to green space. He also stated that with the Gateway Project, the city will be looking into upgrading the lighting and green space in this area. DOT will pay their portion of the project as planned, but the City will have the opportunity to upgrade and pay the difference. The City would like to make this a signature entrance to the City and also would need to be able to come up with funding to do the upgrades. Weldon stated that the City is still waiting for the DOT to provide the cost of the lighting upgrade. The green space will most likely be berms with tree plantings to soften the landscaping. All landowner meetings have been conducted and most are willing to negotiate. The BP and Days Inn property owner also owns the entrance going into these properties, so additional negotiating was conducted to come up with a solution. The DOT did agree to stripe this private road for proper traffic control. Sunrise Ridge Road is scheduled to be constructed to the north in 2015. This new road will have sidewalks on both sides. Plans show the new bridge across I-29 will have sidewalks, but there is an upgrade option to add a bike lane that the City would pay for. The current 25th Avenue intersection will be converted to a Right In/ Right Out only intersection. There has recently been a traffic study completed on LeFevre Drive and the possibility of continuing this road north. The City has a staff meeting scheduled with DOT on September 23rd to discuss this. Englund is concerned about the intersection radius being too small on all the north going east turns. He asked Weldon to have DOT research this. Mills is concerned about making recommendations to the City Council prior to final negotiations with property owners. The committee will go through the 22nd to 34th Avenue plans, and bring any concerns/issues up at a future meeting. Discussion of Highway 14 (6th Street from Main Avenue to Medary Avenue) Weldon informed the committee that the current plan is for a 5-lane street. The outside lanes will be 14’ wide which will allow enough room for snow storage and a bike lane. The inside lanes and turn lane will be 11’ wide. There will also be new sidewalks on both sides of the street. This item has been tabled to the September 15 meeting to allow for additional discussion. Adjourn A motion was made by Bartley, seconded by Englund to adjourn. All present voted yes; motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 4:45 p.m. Submitted by Lana Schwartz.