Long considered a dangerous intersection, the junction of NW 30 Road and North Washington is now seeing a raft of safety improvements, said Barton County Engineer Barry McManaman. Work has begun and should be wrapped up in a couple of months.
The intersection project is tied in with a concrete box widening project on NW 50 Road just east of NW 10 Avenue (west of Golden Belt Memorial Park).
The cost for both is $603,844.25, of which the intersection improvements account for around $230,000, the county engineer said. The County Commission last August approved a bid from L&M Contractors of Great Bend to tackle the improvements; L&M in turn subcontracted the intersection changes to Phillips Southern Electric Company of Wichita.
This is a Kansas Department of Transportation High Risk Rural Roads project under which the state will pay for 90% of design, construction, and inspection, McManaman said. The county’s share of construction is expected to be just over $60,000.
The work at the intersection is also ongoing, but the junction will remain open.
Intersection improvements
• There will be a pole in the northeast part of the right of way from which a mast arm hangs out over North Washington, and on the arm will be “Approaching Traffic” signs.
There will also be yellow flashing beacons on each side of the signs. The signs and beacons will be visible to northbound traffic and to southbound traffic.
• A second arm will hang out over the east leg of 30 Road from the same pole, and on it will be mounted radar detectors that will pick up traffic going both ways on 30 Road. When traffic is approaching the intersection from the east or west the system will activate the yellow flashers next to the overhead signs, warning traffic on Washington that there is approaching traffic on 30 Road.
“One of the common complaints has been for northbound traffic on Washington and the fact that they have no idea if traffic is approaching from the east,” McManaman said. “The warning system will provide that information.”
• In addition to the signs over Washington, there will be advance “Approaching Traffic” signs with beacons on the shoulders of Washington about 300 feet each way from the intersection. They too will be tied into the warning system to give better advance notice of approaching traffic.
• A section of trees in the southeast corner of the intersection will be removed to improve sight distance for the traffic on the east leg. A new row of trees will be planted on a diagonal further to the east.
“The County purchased an additional triangle of right of way to allow us to keep the trees trimmed back to maintain the new sight triangle,” he said. “The east leg currently has limited sight distance due to the trees until a driver gets close to the intersection at the stop bar, so moving the trees back will be an improvement.”
• Radar speed displays will be installed on each leg of the intersection, similar to what is near the north end of Great Bend on U.S. 281.
• There will be new stop signs on the east and west legs of the intersection that are LED signs with the flashing red lights that go around the perimeter of each sign.
• There will be improved rumble strips on the east and west legs because over time they have flattened out somewhat.
• There will some new pavement markings installed.
This intersection has been the scene of several serious crashes over the years and the topic of much discussion, McManaman said.
Following the fatal crash that killed 18-year-old Shealee A. Stover on April 17, 2018, a number of changes were made at the corner. Then, on June 11, 2019, Francis Haberman, 91, was seriously injured when his pickup was struck by a trash truck.
New, larger, 48-inch stop signs, larger “Cross Traffic Does Not Stop” signs and larger “Stop Ahead” signs, all with ultra-high grade reflectivity, were installed.
The speed limit was also amended, extending the 45 mph zone a half mile north of the corner. Prior to the change, the speed limit on Washington jumped from 45 miles per hour south of 30 Road to 55 north of it.
The same new speed also applies to 30 Road a half mile west of the corner and from the corner east to U.S. 281.
NW 50 Road improvements
At the concrete box location west of the county-owned memorial parks, 50 Road has a drop-off only 2 feet from the outside white line and close to the edge of the pavement. So, widening the box improves roadside safety by establishing a wider shoulder and moving the drop-offs at the ends of the box further from the driving lanes.
The county has NW 50 Road closed in that location right now while L&M Contractors works on widening, McManaman said. The detour takes motorists from North Washington south to NW 30 Road, west to NW 10 Avenue and north back to NW 50 road.
He said L&M anticipates having all work done by some time in the spring. However, there could be delays due to supply chain problems.
