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HR Green warns federal clearances delaying 3rd Street sidewalk; council presses broader traffic study for proposed Kwik Trip site
Summary
HR Green told the council that NEPA and SHPO clearances from DOT are still outstanding, holding up submission of final 3rd Street sidewalk plans; council members and residents pressed staff about whether the developer’s traffic study for a proposed Kwik Trip will capture safety impacts across the entire Highway 151 corridor.
Melissa Clow of HR Green presented the city’s project-status report on Oct. 23, 2025 and told the council that completion of the 3rd Street sidewalk extension is delayed until federal clearances are issued. “There still is no National Environmental Policy Act or SHPO Historic Preservation Office clearances from the DOT,” Clow said, adding staff received the historic-properties clearance that day but cannot submit final plans until all clearances are complete.
Clow said clearance timelines have stretched: what had taken two weeks to a month previously is now taking about six months for Federal Highway Administration reviews, and she noted uncertainty about the impact of a federal government shutdown on those schedules. She also reported other project updates including awarding the water treatment plant aerator replacement to Woodruff Construction and near-completion of sewer work between Ford and North Huber.
During Q&A, a resident and council members raised safety concerns about the intersection near the proposed Kwik Trip (Kwik Star) site off Highway 151 and Chamber Drive, saying it has multiple ingress and egress points and “is becoming very problematic.” Steve (a council participant) counted what he said were multiple access points and urged broader study. Clow and other staff said the developer is responsible for a site-specific traffic study required by code and by DOT for the driveway and signal impacts, but they acknowledged that a developer-only study provides a snapshot of impacts only to that property. City staff said they can follow up with the traffic-study reviewer and that any decision to require a larger corridor study would come when a formal application and plans are submitted to the city.
Contractor- and engineering-team participants discussed how to avoid similar surprises on future projects. One presenter explained inadequate borings on a sewer project led to an increase in unsuitable backfill quantities and a change order; engineers noted that including borings adds cost (on the order of $10,000–$20,000 along a route) but can reduce the chance of later change orders. “In projects where there’s existing sewer, we don’t typically spend the money,” a caller with HR Green said, noting assumptions about previously replaced soils can be incorrect.
The council did not take action at the meeting to require broader traffic analysis; staff said they would follow up with the DOT and with the developer’s consultants and report at a future meeting.
