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City engineer: Dawson and Main intersection has most accidents; adding high‑school turn lane would cost about $232,000
Summary
During discussion of the Main Street Reconstruction Project, V&K representative Leland reported Dawson and Main had the highest number of accidents (property damage only) and estimated that adding a turn lane in front of the high school would cost roughly $232,000 whether added now or later; council asked for a clearer community survey before relying on earlier Facebook responses.
City engineering staff and council members discussed options for the Main Street Reconstruction Project at the March 16 West Branch City Council meeting.
Leland, the V&K city engineering representative, told the council that accident‑report reviews show the Dawson Street and Main Street intersection had the highest number of crashes in town; he said the incidents resulted in property damage only. Leland reported that constructing a turn lane in front of the high school would add an estimated $232,000 to the project whether it is included during the current reconstruction or added at a later date (excluding standard inflation adjustments).
Council members questioned whether to build the turn lane now or defer it, and discussed community feedback from a recent Facebook survey. Leland summarized the survey’s results as 85 responses with about 68.2% answering “No” to the question of whether the city should construct a turn lane before other projects. Council members said the survey was vague and had a low response count and asked staff to reissue it with clearer project details and broader communication so the city can collect a more representative response.
What happens next: staff will be asked to reissue the community survey with expanded information on project tradeoffs; no formal change to the Main Street Reconstruction Project was approved at this meeting.
