Sedalia Council Approves Engineering Study of West Main/LeRoy Van Dyke Ave & Curry Drive
In a nine-minute meeting, Sedalia City Council approved a MoDOT grant award of $12,000 to help pay for a comprehensive safety and operations analysis of a Sedalia intersection.
The 80-20 grant from MoDOT through a Traffic Engineering Assistance Program, or TEAP, will pay for $12,000 of the study, which is expected to cost $43,766.32.
The total price reflects the cost of an analysis that will be conducted by a traffic engineering professional who will suggest ways to make the intersection of West Main, Curry Drive and Leroy Van Dyke Avenue, located just south of US Highway 50 and at the entrance to Thompson Meadows Industrial Park, safer.
It is the primary access point for big trucks to the industrial park, which has multiple manufacturing facilities, warehouses and distribution centers.
According to EDSPC Executive Director Jessica Craig, there are still 85 acres of land available at Thompson Meadows before it becomes completely full.
The newest building at Thompson Meadows sits at the very front of the property and houses the EDSPC headquarters at 101 Curry Drive.
In addition, Impact Signs (5.5 acres) and the brand new Amazon “Last Mile” distribution center (15 acres) on West Main are in operation, as well as several new retail businesses that have sprung up in the area, contributing to an increase in traffic through that intersection. That includes the Roger Garlich Activity Center, Hobby Lobby, Valvoline, Chipolte, Colton's Steak House, Holiday Inn Express, Hampton Inn, Tractor Supply, etc., all on the south side of Highway 50.
City Administrator Matthew Wirt noted that an engineering study must be done first before any improvements can be made, acknowledging that engineering services are expensive.
Wirt said he has received a lot of complaints about traffic flow at the intersection.
This despite four-way traffic lights with turn signals, three or four stop signs, and good visibility over flat terrain with no obstructions from trees at West Main and Curry Drive.
The east-west frontage road is called Leroy Van Dyke Avenue to the east of Curry Drive, and West Main to the west of Curry. On the north side of Highway 50, Curry Drive becomes Oak Grove Lane. Main Street branches off of Oak Grove and continues east all the way to downtown Sedalia. That can be confusing to some drivers.
The study will analyze traffic volumes during peak industrial and retail hours, assess the impact to surrounding roadways, and ultimately recommend safety improvements, which will affect residents, employees and visitors to the State Fair City.
Wirt noted that this is the first step in a long-range plan for improvements to both sides of Highway 50. The north side will require a separate MoDOT grant.
Second Ward Councilwoman Tina Boggess asked Wirt for clarification that voting for the analysis is simply agreeing to an engineering study to be able to move forward with the overall project to improve safety.
Wirt said there is a Dec. 29 deadline, therefore the reason Council was called to meet in special session Tuesday.
The vote was seven yes, one absent (First Ward Councilman Lee Scriber was not present at the Tuesday meeting).
In the top photo: Second Ward Councilwoman Tina Boggess questions City Administrator Matt Wirt during a special meeting of Sedalia City Council on Tuesday, Dec. 23.
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