Madison County hears update on Stridman Road options; utilities, poor soils may raise costs and schedule

Shannon Wells with engineering firm Garver updated Madison County officials Wednesday on design and schedule considerations for the Stridman Road project from Highway 463 to DeWitt, saying engineers are weighing a continuous five‑lane cross section against a partial three‑lane section and that utility relocation and poor subsurface materials are likely to affect cost and timing.

Wells said the traffic model supports a continuous five‑lane section from end to end and that a signal or roundabout likely will be needed at the Camden Crossing intersection. She said the five‑lane option would ease evening and morning rush‑hour congestion, particularly westbound morning traffic linked to parents driving children to Mansdale School, but that a three‑lane transition on the west end could reduce right‑of‑way and construction impacts in less‑developed areas near the Lake Caroline entrance.

"The material is consistently unsuitable," Wells said of subsurface soils found from Dewees Road west through parts of Devlin Springs. She said those soft or weak materials will require undercutting and backfill for a substantial portion of the project, a condition that tends to increase cost and construction complexity. "There will be undercutting backfill needed for a good portion of this project," she said.

Wells said curb and gutter is recommended to minimize impacts to utilities and right of way. She added that the firm completed the environmental report and has begun title work for parcels already identified as likely to be affected.

On utilities, Wells said Garver has scheduled meetings with affected utility companies in early May and that relocating utilities, particularly overhead power lines, is likely to be the project's critical path. "My opinion is going to be the critical path on my project, is relocating utilities, particularly overhead power on the roadway," she said.

County participants also said they have been in communication with MDOT about changes at the intersection with Highway 463 and that Garver has requested MDOT design files to coordinate tie‑ins. Wells said Garver received digital plan files and will drop those plans onto its drawings to show how the projects will connect.

Wells said the team is not yet prepared to recommend a single concept and expects more work on cost, constructability and drainage before making a formal recommendation. She said preliminary design work, including drainage, maintenance‑of‑traffic plans and construction sequencing, will proceed over the coming months and that a fuller update should be available by July.

No formal vote or action was recorded during the update; staff direction and next steps included continued analysis of 3‑ versus 5‑lane options, early title work, coordination with MDOT, and meetings with utility providers to refine schedule and relocation plans.

Next steps listed by Garver include finalizing the preliminary design based on the selected concept, advancing right‑of‑way title work, completing utility coordination, and returning to the county with a recommendation in the next quarter.