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Alderson traffic light test ends |
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April 26, 2017 |
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After flashing for the past few weeks, the light
at the intersection of Highway 95 and Alderson
Lane in Bonners Ferry has returned to its more
familiar pattern of red, yellow, green ... for
the time being, anyway.
The flashing red and yellow lights were part of
an Idaho Department of Transportation study
that's underway to determine how best to
reconfigure and improve the highway through
Bonners Ferry.
"The widening through Bonners Ferry will require
changes to the signal at Alderson Lane, so we
are working with city officials to determine the
appropriate traffic control application," said
ITD engineer Ben Ward, who is working on the
project design. "We recently gathered data at
the intersection with the signal turned to flash
mode — yellow for US 95 traffic and red for
Alderson Lane, which is essentially how traffic
would be controlled with a stop sign for traffic
entering the highway from Alderson. This is also
how the signal functions daily during peak
afternoon traffic, so we (ITD and the City)
wanted to gather data under that configuration.
The data is being entered into traffic
simulation software to help determine the best
way to control traffic at that intersection."
Public information meetings and hearings were
held on the project in 2015, when local
residents got their first look at Stage 1 of the
LaBrosse Hill Street to Madison Street Project,
which encompasses the section from Alderson Lane
to Madison Street, in a project that has since
expanded.
Since the public meetings, ITD has added work to
improve the pavement on the South Hill from
Madison Street to the Kootenai River Bridge.
That reconstruction work will include a new
wider eight-foot sidewalk on the west side of
the highway and a reduction from four lanes to
two between Madison Street and Ash Street.
A fairly significant majority of the people who
commented at the two public meetings favored the
wide three-lane alternative (Alternative 2) as
opposed to the narrow three-lane Alternative 1,
and as that design more closely aligns to
current highway standards, ITD has focused
development efforts in that direction.
Alternative 2, which will require the
acquisition of between 4 and 10 feet or
right-of-way from most of the adjacent
properties, is being designed to provide a
constant 46-foot roadway width with six-foot
shoulders, two 11-foot through lanes and a
12-foot two-way left turn lane. It will reduce
number of approaches to the highway, closing the
south Denver and Cody Street approaches as
well as consolidate or relocate business
approaches and address oversized business
approaches.
The plan would close alley approaches between
Van Buren and Madison Streets, add sidewalks and
ADA ramps on both sides of US 95 for pedestrian
travel along and across the corridor and address
drainage along the corridor, and remove the only
stop light in town, the traffic signal at the
highway and Alderson Lane.
As the plans get more refined, ITD will hold
additional informational meetings and public
hearings to let local drivers know what's coming
up on the horizon and to give another chance to
weigh in on the plans. |
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