A new road project at N.W. 46th Street is underway from N.W. Fielding Road to N.W. Rochester Road. Shawnee County Commissioners Aaron Mays, Kevin Cook and Bill Riphahn heard a presentation from SBB Engineering project engineer Brian Austin on Monday morning about the plans for the upcoming road project. Austin said the scope of the project is to improve safety. That includes widening the road with a 4-foot paved shoulder, a 3-lane road, adding right turn lanes, a roundabout at N.W. Green Hills Place and more.
Project to move in four phases
"The intersection at Green Hills Place will be closed starting the week of March 10 and go through July 4. The side streets Redwood, Country Park Road, Lovering Lane and Rochester Road," said Austin. Utilities are still out doing their final relocations. Austin said detour signage will be presented throughout the routes, as citizens are concerned with the traffic along with traffic barricades. Notices to everyone within the one-mile radius have been sent a notice, Austin told commissioners.
Safety for pedestrians raise concern
Cook acknowledged that it's important to address the anticipated closure dates because most citizens begin to distrust governing bodies when those dates aren't met. Scott Huston, co-owner of Viking Grille and a N.W. High Point Drive resident, is concerned about driver safety and that businesses will shutter. "The shoulder of the road on 46th Street is about 15-foot wide, a whole car could go through it, no problem. A lot of room for error there," Huston said. "There's no room for error on 62nd and 35th. There will be accidents. "We talked about this is a plan for safety. No, it's not. This is the opposite." Huston said North Topeka Boulevard was closed and people can't use North Topeka Bridge to get across town. "And now we're going to close the third main road of North Topeka all at the same time," he said. "All three major roads completely shut down. That seems like the craziest idea I've ever heard." Commissioner Mays questioned if the project could move its phases around, but Austin and Curt Niehaus, director of public works, said moving phases wouldn't make much of a difference. Erica Lichtenauer, Huston's sister and a Realtor with
property owned on N.W. Brickyard Road, said her main concern is the safety of children and asked if studies had been done beforehand. Commissioners said studies are the Kansas Department of Transportation's responsibility and weren't on hand as of Monday. "I have two teenage boys driving," said Lichtenauer. "You're going to push all of those kids to 35th or 62nd, and nobody can tell me that there's been safety studies done." She said 62nd Road and US-75 highway has been the site of many car accidents. "It's a lot to not allow my kids to ever cross to go to my brother's property ever to cross 62nd and 75 — they're not allowed," Lichtenauer said. "Now you're telling me half the high school has to take that alternate route because there's two options. "What I'm mad and infuriated most about is that nobody is considering the safety for these kids and there's not alternate routes." Niehaus recommended back to the alternate routes and project phases. "If people are scared of the intersection at 62nd and U.S. 75, they can come South on Button Road, back to 46th St. Remember the full length of the project will not be closed at one time. It will be isolated areas," said Niehaus.
Project approved in 2014
Shawnee County voters approved funding for projects that included the N.W. 46th Street project when they
approved a 15-year extension of a countywide, half-cent sales tax in 2014. A public meeting about the upcoming project will be 6 p.m. Tuesday at Mother Teresa Catholic Church, 2014 N.W. 46th St.
