State officials say 3-lane design safer, more efficient than 4-lane
Community and business leaders were invited to share feedback last week regarding a Nebraska State Department of Transportation proposal to rebuild Highway 34 through Aurora.
With 1.71 miles of heavily-travelled highway from the 1st Street intersection to the east edge of town showing signs of deterioration, state officials reported that the 30-year old roadway is approaching a “critical year” in approximately 2028, thus planning has begun on how and when to replace it. Based on state and federal roadway reconfiguration studies used to evaluate safety, speed and other factors, Dist. 4 Engineer Wes Wahlgren and other NDOT officials suggest changing the configuration from the existing four lanes to a three-lane roadway. The revised design, if approved, would consist of two through lanes and a center, two-way left-turn lane.
“We don’t build four lanes anymore,” Wahlgren said. “This project that we’re planning is going to replace Highway 34, Q Street, through Aurora and we’re planning on construction starting in 2025.
“With this project, we want to go back with the (new) concrete pavement,” he explained of what is expected to involve a full year of construction. “We could patch it (the existing cement roadway). We could put asphalt on top of it, but then we’d be back every 10 years… I’m hoping for a 50-year life out of it, at least, and this one is about 30 years old.”
State officials began discussing future plans for Highway 34 with city leaders several months ago. A steering committee was formed including representatives from the Aurora City Council, the Aurora Development Corporation and other community members, who met previously with those who own businesses along the corridor to gather preliminary input. A larger group was invited to the Bremer Center July 20 to review NDOT’s recommendation and share questions and concerns.
“Like Wes said, this is a project that’s going to last for 40 to 50 years so we want to make sure it’s done right,” said Kelsey Bergen, ADC’s executive director, who helped facilitate two separate one-hour information meetings that drew approximately 40 participants. “The goal for today is for us to hear from you. You’re going to be the ones that are sharing your thoughts, your ideas, your concerns, your feedback, so that we can go back to the steering committee to talk that over and be as prepared as possible when we talk with the Department of Roads and get ready to ramp up for construction.”
NDOT officials emphasized the state’s goal, which is to use the existing Highway 34 footprint to build a new three-lane roadway, citing studies from other communities which indicate a pattern of “traffic calming” and fewer accidents (See related info box).
“The goal of the recent meetings and current study is to explore and understand the local factors in Aurora that would go into determining the most efficient and safe roadway configuration for motorists and pedestrians,” said Syed Ataullah, NDOT assistant roadway design engineer. “The Federal Highway Administration and many departments of transportation across the country, including the Nebraska Department of Transportation, recognize that four-lane undivided highways like US-34 through Aurora are not the most effective or efficient.
“In addition to a traditional three-lane roadway,” he continued in an email response to the News-Register, “the NDOT is also looking at a three-lane plus one, which just like it sounds, is the same configuration as the basic three-lane but with an additional eastbound through and right-turn lane. NDOT looks forward to future opportunities to discuss this project and investment in Aurora with the community through open public information meetings that will be held later in the project development process.”
Four key issues
Each of the two information sessions invited feedback focused on four key issues, including traffic flow, driver safety, pedestrian safety and construction concerns. A number of points were made, as listed in a separate ANR story, which will be added to input gathered in a local public survey for NDOT’s use in determining ultimate road design options.
“We’ll have another meeting after this,” Bergen explained. “We can use what you’ve said today and we can say, okay, if it were to be a three-lane these are the things that it would help address. These are your concerns if it’s to be a four-lane or some alternate type of a wider system. With every option you’re going to have give and take. With this one you’ll slow traffic down but it’s going to take longer to move through and you could have more congestion. With this one we might not be able to have all the same safety features that you would with the other design, but these are things we’ll gain. So when we can take all these things and assign them to address this design, then we can have a conversation of what fits our community best for the longevity of Aurora.”
On that point, two long-time local residents voiced support for keeping the four-lane roadway going forward.
“The majority of us are very happy with what we have,” said Jayne Smith. “So let’s be ready to just continue with what we have.”
Gary Warren, a member of the local steering committee, later expanded on that point.
“What the state is telling us is they don’t want a four-lane road,” Warren said. “This is our community. It’s a 50-year decision and if you don’t want a four-lane road, there are certainly advantages to a turn lane. There are no two ways about it. But I’m not going to let the Department of Roads say we have to have no four-lane.”
“That’s why I said in the beginning, we don’t have two chances,” Bergen responded. “We have one shot, so that’s why your input, your feedback, is important as people who live there, people who work there, people who drive that road.”
What happens next
Bergan reported that information gathered at last week’s information meetings will be reviewed by the steering committee and shared with NDOT officials, who will consider the input when preparing road design options.
“So we still have time,” she said. “I want to encourage you guys to continue to be involved and active because there’s nothing worse than putting in this size of a project and then for the next 50 years hearing, ‘Well, I wish they would have done this, or no one listened to me.’”
Anyone interested in participating in a survey is invited to go to the ADC’s website, https://growaurora.com/hwy34/, where readers will find survey links for the general public, businesses and residents.
Members of the Highway 34 Steering Committee can also be contacted. They include Aurora City Administrator Rick Melcher, Mayor Marlin Seeman, city council members Dick Phillips, Paul Lackore and Wayne Robee, Kelsey Bergen (ADC executive director), Kirk Penner (ADC president), Jannelle Seim (president of the Aurora Housing Development Corporation), and Gary Warren.