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West Alton seeks county help to elevate Red School Road, saying flooding is inevitable
Summary
West Alton officials asked the county to fund almost-complete design and construction to elevate and reconstruct Red School Road near Highway 67, citing frequent flooding and crash history; the city presented near-final design, asked for a large local match and said the road would be raised about eight feet at its highest point.
Kevin Corwin, representing the City of West Alton, presented an elevation and reconstruction project for Red School Road near Highway 67 and told the roadboard the city has nearly finished design and is seeking county participation for right-of-way and construction.
Corwin described the corridor as routinely flood-prone and said the project will improve geometry, raise the roadway, widen lanes to 12 feet, add 3-foot gravel shoulders and install lighting to improve sight lines and truck movements. "In West Alton it's of course never a question of if it will flood it's just a question of when it will flood," Corwin said, arguing elevation is essential to maintain access and reduce repeated closures.
He told the board that design plans are about 95% complete, right-of-way acquisition is underway and the total project cost is "just under a million nine hundred forty thousand" dollars as presented; the city said it has undertaken design work already and is proposing a near-90/10 right-of-way/construction split (which the presenter described as effectively close to an 80/20 split on the county side when city contributions are factored in).
Corwin emphasized the project's safety rationale, citing a county high-injury network analysis (2017–2022) and a crash history in the corridor. He also said the highest point of the elevation will be roughly eight feet higher than existing grades at the project’s peak.
The board did not vote on the West Alton request; county staff will include the project in TIP reviews and follow up on final cost-sharing details and property negotiations.
