The Perry City Council last week approved a bid of about $380,000 from Decorah-based Voltmer Electric for a redesign of the intersection of Willis Avenue and Iowa Highway 44 (First Avenue) in downtown Perry.
The new scheme, to be completely paid for with state-administered U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) money, will see First Avenue converted from four to three lanes between Otley Avenue and Bateman Street, with two opposing traffic lanes separated by a center turning lane.
Transportation planners sometimes refer to such conversions as a “road diet.” They are a relatively low-cost way to improve the safety of streets without reconstruction. Fewer lanes mean fewer conflict points, according to planners, and an isolated turning lane reduces weaving and promotes traffic flow.
Safety studies by the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) show road diets can reduce overall crashes anywhere from 20 percent to nearly 50 percent, particularly among drivers under 35 years old and more than 65.
“Road diets can reduce the vehicle speed differential and vehicle interactions, which can reduce the number and severity of vehicle-to-vehicle crashes,” according to the FHA’s road diet informational guide.
Alternative transportation advocates like diets because they often embrace bicyclists, public transit and pedestrians. Designated bike lanes and sidewalks are sometimes layered on the outside of the travel lanes.
City Administrator Sven Peterson said the redesigned intersection, which will be completed this winter, will improve safety both for vehicles and pedestrians.
“The plan includes all new traffic signals, the kind with pedestrian count downs,” Peterson said, “and this will greatly improve safety at this busy intersection.”
The plan also includes some storm sewer improvements and the construction of new curbs, making for safer turns by westbound semi-tractor trailers. The long-term plan is to convert the entire length of Iowa Highway 144 to three lanes, from the intersection of Iowa Highway 141 to the northern corporate limits of Perry.
“Ultimately, we’ll be looking at the intersection of 144 and 141 for safety improvements there,” said Matt Ferrier of Bolton and Menk, the city’s engineering consultants. Ferrier noted an Iowa State University study from 2008 that “showed the whole corridor should be run as a three lane and does operate more efficiently.”
The present plan for the Willis Avenue intersection will use funds from the Traffic Safety Improvement Program (TSIP). The larger project for the length of First Avenue will probably draw funding from the Iowa DOT’s Urban-State Traffic Engineering Program (U-STEP) and Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), Ferrier said.
In a second project for improving Perry’s streets, bids will be let in February for the Frog Creek bridge replacement project. The bridge on Willis Avenue between West Fourth and West Fifth streets is no longer structurally sound enough to permit standard truck traffic without strict weight limits.
Preliminary design plans for the replacement bridge are now under review by the Iowa DOT, Ferrier said. He said the bridge and deck plans are done and footing and abutment plans are under review.
Construction Materials Testing Co. recently took soil samples near the bridge “to determine footing and abutment sizes,” Ferrier said. He said new piles will be driven to support the structure.
Video courtesy Pegasus TV 12 volunteer Doug Wood
The Perry City Council discussed planned improvements to the Willis Avenue intersection with Iowa Highway 144 at its Sept. 8 meeting.
Sept. 21
