City backs 3-lane Hwy 34 design

The Aurora City Council passed a resolution last week pledging support for the Nebraska Department of Transportation’s recommendation that Highway 34 be rebuilt through Aurora, converting the 1.71-mile roadway from its existing four-lane design to a “three-lane modified urban highway.”
The vote came 11 months after DOT officials explained the proposal in a meeting with local community and business leaders, at which time the project was put on hold due to questions raised with the revised design. Four main concerns were raised at that meeting, focused on traffic flow, driver safety, pedestrian safety and construction concerns.
Mayor Marlin Seeman began a 30-minute discussion at the June 27 city council meeting by explaining why he supported the council taking decisive action at this time. The motivation, he said, was based in large part on state estimates that the existing outside lanes are in poor condition now and could fail within the next five to seven years.
“Wes Wahlgren, (NDOT District 4 engineer) is not one who likes to push (roads) straight into failure because he’s had some and he then has crisis management,” Seeman said. “He would like for our street to be, I guess, rebuilt before it collapses.”
Councilman Mark Dunn asked if the proposed design is final, as well as why the road can’t be rebuilt four lanes wide as it is.
“I guess the ultimate question is if we want the state funds to build it do we ultimately have to go this route, or are we going to foot the bill to build the whole thing (with city funds)?” he asked. “We do have concerns about, you know, one lane of traffic going one direction and the question comes up that we’ve had four lanes going through town for multiple years, so why if it’s going to be the same width and everything anyway, why couldn’t it just be four lanes?”
NDOT officials explained the state’s goal at the July 2022 meeting, 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.
Seeman read the resolution out loud as the discussion began, emphasizing NDOT’s goal to improve safety. 
“The new 3-lane modified section will provide the best solution to improve how this segment of US-34 operates, improve safety along this entire segment including provisions for a safe zone for the crosswalk near the aquatic center, and largely utilizes the existing highway alignment and right-of-way,” he read.
At the public meeting in July of last year, Wahlgren explained the revised design, if approved, would consist of two through lanes and a center, two-way left-turn lane.
“It’s three-lane modified, which means three travel lanes and one turn lane there and it is based upon the best practices as identified by the Department of Transportation and by the research that they presented to community groups over the last year or so,” Seeman said.
The mayor then offered a detailed explanation of the proposed design.
“Modified in this proposal is the two lanes going east,” he said. “The rationale behind this is that the inside lane would be a thru lane for traffic traveling from the ethanol plant area to The Leadership Center, or north and south on Highway 14, such that there would be a designated travel lane for traffic, but also providing adequate free movement. The outside lane going east, if you will, that lane would be modified in that it would serve as a right turn out of traffic … So it may not be designated as right-turn only, but that would be a design function that’s yet to be determined, I guess, because they will have to do traffic studies as well.”
Asked by council members how soon construction could begin, Seeman said that will depend, in part, on when necessary funds are available.
“Because of the delay in making a commitment to design function, the money has been prioritized for what was going to be two years, probably 2028 to 30,” he said. “We think that with this resolution we can maybe encourage them to move it up. We have a relationship that could encourage them to move it up as much as possible, but they need time just like everybody else.”
Seeman went on to say that he believes the proposed design represents the best compromise available to the city, in that it is based on NDOT’s research of best practices.
“And then personally, and I think for all of us here, is that they are very much concerned about a safe zone for the crosswalk,” he said. “Even though we stress the aquatic center during the three months of the summer when it’s in operation, the park and the park amenities are used every day. We still have the need for a careful place to cross and so they’re very cognizant of our desire to address that.”
Seeman then described a raised-island concept involving a section in the middle of the highway near the aquatic center that would be raised several inches, providing a safe haven for youth and adults walking across the roadway.
“I think this is one (design) that we can rally around from the community standpoint because we’re getting the same width of street and we’re also getting enhanced safety features,” he added of the overall design. “They also willing to put in necessary piping and all that kind of stuff that might be used for future lights and signals.”
City Administrator Rick Melcher did clarify that the city may have to cover some of the costs involving infrastructure.
As the discussion continued, Dunn asked if the council would be committing the city to a three-lane modified design by passing the resolution, or if there would be opportunity for continued discussion.
“That’s what the state wants to do is get a resolution from the city that the city supports the design that they recommend,” Melcher responded. 
Aurora Police Chief Paul Graham echoed council members concern with lowering the speed of traffic as a way to further enhance Highway 34 safety.
“I would like to see the speed limit slower going through town,” Graham said. “I’ve talked to Rick about this and that’s one of the things that as they decide what to do with this project that should be discussed, especially getting out of town. I would even say around the tracks (the speed limit) should be 35 (miles per hour) because of what we’ve got going on.”
“There has been discussion with DOT, depending on the design chosen, that they would consider lowering the speed limit,” Melcher added.
After more than a half hour of discussion, including several long pauses of silence, the council voted unanimously to approve the resolution, with Councilman Dan Bartling pausing before offering “a very, reluctant yes.”

Background 
Looking back at discussion from the July 2022 meeting as reported in the News-Register, Wahlgren and other NDOT officials explained the reasoning behind the suggested change.
“We don’t built four lanes anymore,” Wahlgren told a group of community and business leaders at the Bremer Center at the time. “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 had begun discussing future plans for Highway 34 with city leaders earlier in 2022. 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.

Syed Ataullah, NDOT assistant roadway design engineer, said at the time that the goal of last year’s meeting was 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.
“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,” he said. “In addition to a traditional three-lane roadway,” he continued, “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.”
Ataullah later expanded on the benefits of going with a three-lane design, emphasizing that studies in other communities where four-lane roads were replaced with three-lane designs resulted in a 30-60 percent reduction in traffic accidents.
“We have learned that a three-lane highway can efficiently handle twice the traffic that is currently on US-34 in Aurora,” he explained. “By designating a center two-way left turn lane, you provide a safe space to stop and turn left. Oncoming traffic is organized and makes it easier to identify safe gaps to turn in traffic and shortens distance to travel. This reduces rear-end crashes, and more severe side impacts. The shorter distance across the entire highway reduces the crossing time for vehicles and pedestrian traffic. Sight distances and line of site are improved as well. 
“Having less pavement to construct initially and less to maintain in the future provides significant cost savings that will be realized over the life of the project,” he continued. “The additional space within the existing ROW (right-of-way) can be converted to buffer areas separating traffic and the adjacent sidewalks that enhances safety. This additional green space provides opportunities to add amenities and helps beautify the roadway and adjacent properties.”
Traffic calming is something that traffic engineers are starting to look at as well, Wahlgren concluded at last year’s meeting.
“A lot of people think that the faster you pass traffic through a town the better,” he said. “Well, we’ve heard about people being worried about getting rear-ended. If you can get people to slow down for that 1.71 miles, if you calculate how long that five miles per hour costs you it’s negligible, so for the livability of the community, traffic calming helps.”