Wednesday, October 10, 2001
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Wednesday, October 10, 2001 |
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County to pay for improving McDonough Road traffic By DAVE HAMRICK
Help may be coming soon for beleaguered motorists who have to navigate the County Line/McDonough/McElroy Road intersection All other options exhausted, Fayette County commissioners have decided to bite the bullet and pay for improvements to the intersection. "It looks like [the state Department of Transportation] is not going to move further than they have for a foreseeable amount of time," said Lee Hearn, county public works director. Commissioners in July told Hearn to explore federal funding options after learning that the state DOT could come up with only $370,000 for the project, which is expected to cost more than $800,000. "He basically said they're out of money," said commission Chairman Greg Dunn during the July meeting, following a previous meeting with DOT Commissioner Tom Coleman. Federal money for such projects also is nonexistent, Hearn told the commission last week. The intersection is clogged and dangerous partly because two roads dead end into McDonough Road County Line and McElroy within a short distance. Things got better for County Line travelers when the county installed a three-way stop last year, but the change had the opposite effect on McDonough Road, creating waits of 15 or minutes for many motorists. That situation has been relieved slightly by building a right-turn-only lane going from McDonough to County Line, but the final solution, Hearn said, is to align McElroy and County Line so that there's only one intersection. The project also includes cutting down the hill that motorists encounter on McDonough Road, to improve sight distance, and installing turn lanes and a traffic light. Money is the only obstacle, and state DOT officials had promised to provide the needed funds last year, because McDonough Road is slated to become a state highway. But with billions of dollars of priority road projects and public transportation projects suddenly jumping to the front burner in a new three-year transportation plan, there's just not enough money there to complete the McDonough Road project, Dunn said he was told. Commissioners agreed to accept the $370,000 offered by the state, and let the project out for bid with plans to use local funds to finish it. Projected costs include $724,000 for construction and $100,000 for utility relocation. Based on previous discussions, the county had included the project in its budget for this year, but not quite enough money. About $85,000 will have to come from contingency funds.
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