City Seeking Grant for Bluff Road Project

City council members recently approved a resolution authorizing the city engineer to apply for a $660,000 Surface Transportation Program (STP) grant through the East-West Gateway Council of Governments.

If approved, the project would be added to the 2014-2017 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for this region. The annual TIP typically is adopted by the East-West executive board in late summer.

City Engineer Dan Boyce said the total estimate for the project is $825,000. The city’s 20 percent share would be $165,000.

The proposed project would consist of:

• A 4-inch asphalt overlay along the length of the project.

• Adding a right-turn lane at the Highway 100 intersection.

• Reduce the profile grade of Bluff Road as it approaches Highway 100, from 7.5 percent to 4 percent.

• Construct guardrails on the east and west sides of Bluff, between Highway 100 and Westlink Industrial Drive.

The TIP is updated annually, with projects normally following a three-year cycle from engineering to actual construction.

The city has six projects in the current TIP, including two that are scheduled for construction this year. Those are the addition of landscaped medians and other enhancements on Highway 100, east of Highway 47, and resurfacing of various streets, including International Avenue, Rabbit Trail Drive, Wenona Drive, Lexington Lane and Washington Heights Drive.

Other pending city projects in the 2013-2016 TIP include widening and improvement of the Highway 100/Highway A intersection; resurfacing and sidewalk improvements along 14th and Stafford streets; construction of a new Jefferson Street bridge over Busch Creek; and a new pedestrian railroad crossing at Lafayette Street.