County hears transportation feedback

The officials leading Davison County's transportation plan study were looking for feedback about the county's 330 miles of roads prior to their first public meeting on Tuesday night.

They got it.

More than 50 people were on hand for the public open house Tuesday at the Davison County Fairgrounds in Mitchell. The event capped a day where county officials and engineers met with dozens more local stakeholders and residents about the county's road system and how leaders should go about building its future.

"For the most part, it's the stakeholders that are driving these roads daily," Project Manager Jon Wiegand said. "They're the ones that know about the conflicts, the safety issues and know when the road is falling apart. The feedback they provide is extremely beneficial when it comes down to the specifics."

The transportation study, which is scheduled to be completed by July 2015, is to identify issues and needs and give the county a prioritized list with estimated costs of projects. The study, led by the civil engineering firm HR Green, will look at intersections, traffic segments, bridges, along with shoulders, road makeup quality and how to accommodate pedestrians and bicyclists.

Large 36-inch by 42-inch maps were placed on tables throughout the meeting hall, and consultants encouraged road users to share their concerns. Wiegand referred to it as "marking the map," and an effective way to hear out the public.

Residents provided feedback about which roads were heavily traveled and where problem spots can lie. Ag producers in the county expressed a desire to keep 265th Street between Ethan and the Aurora County line in good shape, since it's one of the county's main east-west routes.

Davison County Highway Superintendent Rusty Weinberg then outlined the county's plan to upgrade that road. About five miles has been re-paved already, and another five miles is in the works for 2015. That was welcome feedback from residents.

"From where I stand, I'm glad we have a plan," said county resident Lewis Bainbridge. "Because for a long time, it didn't look like we did."

Weinberg said study officials will still reach out to a few groups to get more feedback -- most notably school bus drivers and rural mail carriers -- to hear what concerns they might have.

The study is being sponsored by the South Dakota Department of Transportation, which also is making up a portion of the study advisory team. The county paid $20,000 of the study's $100,000 cost. The rest is being covered by state and federal sources.

Wiegand said the firm will project forward traffic counts for the next 20 years based on state Department of Transportation figures, and will obtain intersection counts at certain locations around the county. It will use the state's crash counts -- 1,444 crashes in Davison County from 2009 to 2013 -- and figure crash rates. He said crash numbers can be deceiving, because crashes are generally random, and that figure includes more than 600 incidents with animals.

Wiegand said it's also important to consider what the county already has. He said HR Green has been impressed with the system of paved roads in the county.

Studying the issues

A study advisory team for the transportation plan identified the following areas as issues for the study to examine.

• Pavement deterioration along 265th Street.

• Traffic congestion and safety concerns along Spruce Street in southeast Mitchell and along North Ohlman Street in Mitchell.

• Heavy truck traffic from the Poet Ethanol Plant from Loomis to State Highway 37.

• Safety issues at the 252nd Street and 398th Avenue intersection and along 254th Street south of Mount Vernon.

• Safety issues north of Ethan at the corner of 264th Street and 411th Avenue.

• The bridge over the James River along 250th Street near the Hanson County line.

• Potential flood concerns along the James River corridor.

• Steep slope sides along 403rd Avenue (Betts Road) and 265th Street.

• Rough roadway conditions at the intersection of 247th Street and 397th Avenue.

• A surface change along 247th Street between Davison and Aurora counties.

Advisory committee member Jeff Bathke said the meetings Tuesday made them aware of many more issues. Some of the issues have been known for a while, Weinberg said.

"Most of the issues we heard about tonight are things that have been on our radar before, and that's good that we heard about them again," Weinberg said. "I'd say it's been very positive."

Davison County and HR Green are also pushing road users to complete an online survey about their travel habits through the county to gauge what users would like to see for improvements. That is available on the county's website until Dec. 16.

There are also the bridges. Of the 125 bridges inside the county's boundaries, Davison County is responsible for maintaining 88 of them. The remainder are federal, state or township bridges.

The most pressing bridge in the county is the 363-foot span along 250th Street, or Airport Road. Weinberg said the Davison County would likely have to spend $3 million to fix it, exceeding the county's road budget of roughly $2 million.

The county will hold another public meeting in May or June before finalizing the plan.

Wiegand said while the funding mechanism for roads and bridges is out of their control, he said Davison County will be ready when money is available.

"They'll be ready," he said. "They'll have their list of projects and they'll be able to say the cost is 'X' number of dollars and be prepared when funding is available."