Pickering Firm outlines five-lane design, phased build and developer-built entrances for Yandell project
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Summary
Pickering Firm told the Madison County board that two Yandell segments east of Old Canton are being managed as one project, with surveys and environmental reviews underway and a proposed five-lane cross section built in phases; developers would construct subdivision entrances as sections are platted.
Rick Ferguson, project manager with Pickering Firm, told the Madison County board that the firm is treating two Yandell segments east of Old Canton as a single project and plans a five-lane cross section with phased construction, pending property, environmental and cultural surveys.
The design affects neighborhoods including Deerfield, Woodgate and Bainbridge and will require additional field work and coordination with resource agencies and traffic-control contractors before construction can proceed.
Ferguson said Pickering Firm has completed topographic and utility surveys and is finishing property surveys, though crews have encountered “a whole lot of iron pans” that require extra due diligence. “We’re kind of working these two projects together as one big project,” he said. He added the firm expects to finish wetland delineation and a noise study and to complete outstanding property surveys before advancing to detailed plan reviews.
On environmental work, Ferguson said the team has contacted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for a bat survey and has submitted cultural-resource reports to “archives and history.” He said the cultural review “result was there was no impacts” and the team is waiting for concurrence from archives and history.
Ferguson described the proposed cross section and phasing. The firm is proposing a five-lane section for much of the corridor, but a constrained stretch between Western Deerfield and the proposed Woodgate entrance would be a four-lane undivided roadway because fences on both sides of the road make a center turn lane unnecessary. East of that stretch, at the Eastern Deerfield and Woodgate entrances, the design would restore a center turn lane to allow subdivision access, and five lanes would be maintained to Bainbridge.
“If west segment is built first, we can transition back down,” Ferguson said, describing how phasing could adapt to which segment is constructed first. For the east segment, he said the county would acquire right-of-way for a five-lane section but initially build a four-lane undivided roadway; when subdivisions are platted and developed, developers would be responsible for constructing the entrances.
The team also noted coordination for traffic control. Ferguson said he has talked with Randy and expects to coordinate with BCD so traffic-control work is done in a single mobilization rather than multiple short closures.
On schedule, Ferguson said a field review for the west segment is due in the early part of the third quarter and that, given current progress, the team may be able to move that date earlier. The east-segment field review is currently scheduled later in the year but he said that schedule could also be accelerated.
No formal board action or vote was recorded during the update; the presentation was informational and outlined remaining studies and next steps.
