Dugway plan advances, could bring changes to Logan
Residents of Logan’s Island neighborhood who are vehemently against the proposed dugway project can rest assured that the city has their safety in mind.
Public Works Director Kevin Hansen presented alternatives for the project to the Logan Municipal Council on Wednesday night and expressed that he was facing internal conflict over which alternative design would be the best for the city.
Hansen said the engineers had developed a “preferred alternative,” but he questioned whether that particular design should be abandoned for a more fiscally conservative option.
“My engineer’s side says ‘no, not yet,'” Hansen said. “But my fiscal side says ‘you’re going to get a lot more bang for your buck if you do [abandon the preferred alternative].'”
Hansen said the preferred alternative would carry an $8.6 million price tag compared to $3.6 million for another alternative plan.
The alternative plan was developed in part with community input.
“We took one of the ideas that was presented and developed it a little further,” he said.
The alternative would call for the elimination of the long dugway that currently exists. It would also involve elevating Canyon Road as much as 10 feet at the base of the short dugway to lessen the steepness of the slope.
Hansen said the city could set up barriers and simulate the results of changes before they commit to the plan.
“By setting up a few barricades, we can try it before we buy it,” Councilwoman Tami Pyfer said.
Hansen said he supports a reconfiguration in traffic so the city can run traffic evaluations to test the waters of any permanent changes.
“I strongly recommend we reconfigure it and run it for a six month test,” Hansen said. “We may be surprised the other way and say ‘wow, this is working a lot better than we thought.'”
After a reconfiguration of traffic, the city would set up traffic counters in an effort to gauge the amount of traffic after changes.
Council chairwoman Karen Borg asked Hansen how long the city would need to leave the counters in place.
“I would recommend a six month minimum trial period,” Hansen said. “I would want to get it up before the students leave.”
Borg said, “So you start it Feb. 1, and you let it go through until August.”
Hansen said this would allow for three months of traffic counts with the students in town, and three months without students.
Hansen said the additional traffic information would be invaluable for the project.
“I like a lot more information,” he said. “You can’t get too much information for some issues.”
While the dugway is an important project that needs attention and cannot continue to exist in its current state, Hansen said, there are other sections of road that require attention immediately.
“The intersection on Center Street and 200 East is so difficult to maneuver right now,” he said. “It’s something I propose that we do as fast as we can execute it.”
If the city goes with the less expensive dugway alternative and frees up millions of dollars, improvements to Logan traffic could be made elsewhere, like 200 East and 100 East, Hansen said.
The city will put together its plan for a new traffic layout and will publicize it heavily in the coming weeks. Councilman Tom Kerr quipped about the traffic changes, “I’d like to be there on the first day.”
–str@cc.usu.edu