A plan to build a road that curves from State Highway 15 on Hutchinson's north side to State Highway 7 on Hutchinson's east side is taking shape.
Hutchinson City Council agreed last week to contribute to the second phase of a study to formulate the plan. The McLeod County Board agreed Tuesday morning to hire SRF Consulting Group of Minneapolis to conduct the study.
THE CONCEPT
The road plan is part of a ring road concept that directs incoming traffic around a city instead of through it. Directing traffic around Hutchinson from Highway 15 on the north to Highway 7 on the east — and vice versa — will also provide quick access to State Highway 22, which runs north and south beside Hutchinson on the east side.
"It's been talked about quite awhile," said McLeod County engineer John Brunkhorst. "It goes back to probably the '90s."
A similar ring road was constructed about 15 years ago along Vale Avenue and Airport Road to circle Hutchinson from Highway 7 on the west to Highway 15 on the south.
Brunkhorst said ring roads provide an alternate flow of traffic, as would be the case with the northeast proposal.
"I envision commercial vehicles using it more than, say, regular automobiles," he said.
"We hear from truckers," said Hutchinson city engineer Kent Exner. "There are a lot of traffic signals through town here in Hutchinson, and there is no debating it. And two roundabouts. The freight community is not a fan of that."
Construction of the northeast ring road was included among a list of potential projects discussed in a five- to 10-year plan when the county approved a 0.5 percent sales tax to fund road work. The tax went into effect this year. Other funding sources could have an impact on the timeline. The work is estimated to cost $5-8 million.
The City Council voted unanimously to support the study, but Council Member Chad Czmowski said he thought the route would have a marginal benefit for Hutchinson. He said large vehicles can take Adams Street to avoid the traffic lights on Main Street. Exner said it benefited the city to continue to develop travel options to keep the transportation system up to date.
WHAT'S BEEN DONE
A $17,270 study of the ring road's feasibility from a traffic perspective was completed by McLeod County last fall. The city pitched in $8,000 to help the county with the cost.
The study analyzed traffic along roads the ring road would impact and determined the ring road would be traveled by approximately 1,800 vehicles each day, 220 of which would be heavy commercial trucks such as semitractor-trailers, milk trucks and delivery trucks. It identified 10 routes along which to align the road.
"Ultimately the hope is to take those 10 alignments down to two or three," Exner said.
WHAT'S NEXT
The second phase of the study is expected to cost $59,005. In the resolution to hire SRF Consulting Group, the phase cost was capped at that amount. Hutchinson's decision last week came with a $15,000 contribution to that total. Exner said the city's contribution assured it had a seat at the table in project discussions.
The study will analyze soil quality, wetlands and other environmental factors any construction will need to take into account along various route alignments. These factors will impact the overall cost of road construction. SRF Consulting Group is also tasked with gathering input from the public. The study will have a steering committee and public open houses. When the phase is completed, the county should have what information it needs to decide whether to move forward.
"We need this information to make a decision," said Board Chair Joe Nagel. "The hard part is finding where there is value ... and who is benefiting from it."
He said he was happy Hutchinson had agreed to help fund the study.
Board Member Paul Wright said the study doesn't assure the road will be built.
"This is something to put on that long-range plan," he said.
He said keeping on top of such studies helps the county avoid mistakes such as allowing other construction where a preferred corridor would go.
"Those are very expensive mistakes that can happen if you don't have a plan," Wright said.
