Tuesday Night, City Council spent a considerable amount of time talking about expending $120,000 for a feasbility study for a potential new roundabout on West Main Street and South Stanfield/Experiment Farm Roads. You can watch the meeting at our YouTube channel below.
During the meeting, Council Member Todd Severt stated that he had conversations with City Staff on the issue and wondered that if something could be written up and submitted to the rest of the council outlining the conversation. Following up on that comment, the City’s Top Bureaucrat stated that City Staff would provide council a more detailed written explanation of the need for the survey.
This publication submitted a public records request for that communication and is happy to present that for public consumption:
It was recently brought to staff’s attention that there are some concerns about the request for a Feasibility Study for the West Main Street (SR 41) and Experiment Farm Road/South Stanfield Road Intersection Improvements project. A feasibility study is not to prove that a roundabout is the chosen alternative, but to show the best preferred alternative for the intersection. This intersection is one of the highest volume (i.e. highly traveled) intersections in the City and ranks as the 29th highest crash intersection in the MVRPC four-county region. The corridor has been on the long range transportation plan for over 15-20 years as part of the City’s strategic growth plan for improvements.
Staff has been reviewing and studying this intersection for several years internally and with local traffic engineers as well as with ODOT district signal engineers. In 2019, staff began working with American Structurepoint for the study of this intersection. Safety funding was requested but ODOT determined that due to the lack of severity of the crashes at the intersection, the improvement project would not qualify for a safety funding grant. In the Fall of 2023, Council authorized staff to apply for Surface Transportation Program (STP) federal funding in the amount of $2.579 million of an estimated $4.298 million dollar construction project (design and construction engineering fees are not eligible for grant funding). At the time of application and subsequent grant award in Spring of 2024, City staff thought that the recommended intersection improvement as a roundabout was approved by ODOT. Note that a federal transportation grant is awarded and recorded into the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) a minimum of 5 years in advance of a project's construction. The grant is scheduled to be available for State Fiscal Year 2029, which means that construction can be awarded or begin between July 1, 2028 – June 30, 2029.
Shortly after grant award, ODOT determined that a Feasibility Study would need to be completed, in addition to the several studies already completed at this intersection between 2019 and 2023. This would help determine the type of intersection improvement: either improving the signalized intersection with lane additions, a roundabout or another alternative not yet studied. The Feasibility Study must follow the ODOT Analysis and Traffic Simulation (OATS) Manual pertaining to traffic analysis, which was adopted by ODOT in 2021 (after the intersection was originally studied). The feasibility study will include a reevaluation of the traffic simulation model using a different software as well as several other components, including but not limited to public meetings to receive public input and to review and identify any potential project environmental concerns.
As a part of the funding award, the City is required to perform this study. The City will not only forfeit the $2.579 million grant, but will also be penalized points in future funding applications if the project is halted. The question was asked during Tuesday night's Council meeting why staff hadn't brought this request to Council in 2024. Last year, staff discussed on multiple occasions with ODOT District 7, as well as ODOT Central Office whether a Feasibility study would be needed in light of the previous reports the City had already completed. Staff was unsuccessful in gaining an exemption from using the new OATS manual.
Staff is sensitive to the "West Main Street construction fatigue," and will work with ODOT to not commence construction until 2029. This will allow a year off in 2028 from construction activity along West Main Street.
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