Small Town News

Whats the plan for the countys road system?

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The Adams County Commissioners met on Monday afternoon to discuss the county's Transportation Plan, a document that will outline the needs and priorities of the county road and bridge system over a 20-year period.

A few years back, the county procured the services of the engineering firm Keller and Associates to provide them with a draft transportation plan that would present an evaluation of the current roadway system and a "roadmap" to be used for future decisions.

The draft, released this year, contains detailed information on all county roads and bridges as well as potential priority areas for improvement and maintenance projects.

To help the commissioners with making transportation decisions for the plan, the county convened a five person Transportation Advisory Committee consisting of local residents, Tim Toomey, Wendy Green, Pete Johnston, Dave Rittersbacher and Mike Fisk.

Several of these members were in attendance on Monday as they went through the draft document and discussed changes that need to be made.

Some of the changes were obvious. The draft plan was started earlier this decade when growth was occurring and more was expected. Therefore many of the priorities listed were designed to deal with growth, such as more road paving to deal with an anticipated increase in traffic.

While, such growth could potentially still come to pass within the next 20 years, altering the county roadway system in anticipation of waves of newcomers, is no longer a priority for the county. So the draft document will be adjusted accordingly. More important, said the commissioners and their committee, is ensuring that roads and bridges in the area meet safety standards and are maintained in a way that ensures their longevity.

Among roads discussed as high priority roads:

Landore Road near Bear

Gray's Creek Road in Indian Valley

Smokey Boulder Road near New Meadows

Cemetery Road A number of bridges are also high priority:

Bear Creek Bridge at Wildhorse

Hornet Creek Bridge on Council Cuprum Road

Beaver Creek Road Completing the Transportation Plan is important for two reasons: 1) the county is not eligible for most state and federal road and bridge grants unless they have a specific plan in place and are following it and 2) county officials admit, they've never really had a plan in place. They've just operated on a year-to-year, or project-to-project, basis, without much regard to an overall long term strategy.

There will be continued discussion on the Transportation Plan during the October 19 Commissioner Meeting. Any resident wishing to chime in on what they think the priority areas should be are encouraged to attend.

The Commissioners hope to have their Transportation Plan finalized by early 2010.



Copyright 2009 The Adams County Record, Council, Idaho. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from SmallTownPapers, Inc.

© 2009 The Adams County Record Council, Idaho. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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