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Salina delays decision on 9th Street‑Waterwell Road roundabout after trucking concerns
Summary
City staff and consultants recommended a single‑lane roundabout at the 9th St. and Waterwell Rd. intersection for safety and lifecycle cost savings, but heavy pushback from local trucking operators and questions from commissioners prompted a unanimous postponement to Dec. 8 for more targeted truck‑traffic and modeling data.
City officials put plans to rebuild the 9th Street and Waterwell Road intersection — with Kaw Valley Engineering and consultant testimony favoring a single‑lane roundabout — on hold after extensive public comment and commissioner questioning.
Ron Marsh, Salina's director of public works, told the commission the intersection has roughly 4,700 vehicles per day on 9th Street and 3,200 on Waterwell, and that consultants documented 10 crashes there since 2022, including two injury accidents. Consultants recommended a single‑lane roundabout as the preferred safety solution, and presented a 50‑year life‑cycle cost comparison that favored the roundabout, citing reduced severe crashes in FHWA studies.
Justin Owens, lead engineer for Kaw Valley Engineering, told commissioners that single‑lane roundabouts generally perform well up to roughly 12,000 vehicles in one direction and that models projecting 20‑year growth showed the roundabout remaining effective well past that timeframe. Owens said the design team would include truck turning templates and consider bypass/right‑turn lanes where needed.
But trucking representatives and several local freight operators urged a slower approach. "I was not contacted and did not receive the final design before this meeting," said Jamie Bradley of Doug Bradley Trucking, who said his company and other operators regularly move freight to and from Kubota and other facilities near the intersection. Bert Wise of Great Plains Trucking urged commissioners to weigh the economic impact and liability exposure to carriers, noting that larger vehicles have different operational needs.
Engineers said the team had collected week‑long counts (July 15–22, 2025), captured peak hour data including shift changes, and modeled truck performance; they offered to synthesize and present hourly truck volumes and additional simulations showing shift‑specific effects.
After extended questioning about truck gap‑finding during peak shift changes, possible queuing from nearby private driveways and guard shacks, and whether single‑lane geometry could be widened or modified, a commissioner moved to postpone consideration pending targeted information for staff and the consultant. The commission amended the return date to Dec. 8, 2025 and the amendment passed unanimously. Staff noted that further delay could push construction out another year depending on design and procurement timing.
What happens next: Staff and Kaw Valley were directed to provide more granular hourly truck counts, simulations that include shift change conditions, proposed bypass lane geometry, and refined vehicle tracking so commissioners and stakeholders can evaluate whether the roundabout layout can be modified to address truck operator concerns.
