US-56 proposal criticized, would cut off business access roads
Staff writer
One of two options Kansas Department of Transportation is proposing for a US-56 renovation in Marion County concerns county commissioners and the City of Hillsboro.
Both the Hillsboro City Council and county commissioners pushed back on Option No. 1, which would close access to several primary roads.
KDOT unveiled the proposals at open houses in Marion and McPherson last week.
Under the one proposal, Industrial St. would be closed, Commercial St. / Flint Rock Rd. north of US-56 would be closed. Access to Marion Ace Hardware, county offices, and the county ambulance station along Commercial St. would be available only from the north, at Timber Rd. (Eisenhower Dr. extended).
“I was there, and I expressed my concern with all of the closures,” county commmissioner Clarke Dirks said. “To close that road would really hurt Marion County,” he said.
Road closures in Hillsboro under Option 1 also would be detrimental to several businesses in the city, reducing the number of entrances and exits off of US-56 from five to two.
Removing a turnoff to Santa Fe St. would hurt Containment Services, Barkman Honey, Builders Concrete & Supply and Countryside Feeds, all of which use this entrance and exit regularly.
“It’s a convoluted idea,” Dirks said. “It’s inconvenient, and it doesn’t help anything.”
The proposal also woulod close Orchard Dr., where the Sonic Drive-In, Dollar General, Fleet Fuel, and Vondy’s Liquore are located.
Not having direct access off of US-56 would result in fewer customers, local officials said.
Hillsboro Mayor Lou Thurston said the city would do whatever was possible to make sure roads off US-56 leading to and from the city remain accessible.
“I would just say this proposal is a non-starter for Hillsboro,” he said. “We will not allow that to happen. We are extremely opposed to closing access to our city.”
City administrator Matt Stiles, who has contacted state officials, was told that a second option, included decreasing speed limits, also was under consideration.
At Monday’s city council meeting Stiles said he had no problems with the second option.
Thurston said he did not understand why the state recently provided the city a grant to make improvements to Orchard Dr. and now there is a proposal to close postions of the road.
“I do not think the right hand knows what the left hand is doing,” he said. “We will not allow it to happen.”
At a county commissioners’ meeting Monday, Dirks said KDOT had received a lot of letters opposing Option No. 1, would include a passing lane between Old Mill and Remington Rds. near Marion Reservoir.
Urban reconfigurations also are being proposed in Galva and Canton and Hillsboro, and a bridge replacement west of Lehigh.
A road overlay, shoulder widening, and improvement of turning lanes at eight intersections also are being proposed.
Kansas Department of Transportation will schedule another meetingwith residents in January before issuing its draft report in February.
\