Ottawa city commissioners removed more roadblocks Wednesday for improvements to be made at the corner of K-68 and Davis Road that will improve access to the city’s industrial park.

Commissioners gave Blake Jorgensen, Ottawa mayor, permission to execute a project agreement with the Kansas Department of Transportation that will add turning lanes — on the north side of K-68 as well as on Davis Road — and a traffic signal at the busy intersection. The project also will include sidewalks along K-68 and Davis Road at and near the intersection, as well as improvements to the stormwater drainage system at the intersection, Andy Haney, the city’s public works director, told commissioners Wednesday.

Ottawa city commissioners removed more roadblocks Wednesday for improvements to be made at the corner of K-68 and Davis Road that will improve access to the city’s industrial park.

Commissioners gave Blake Jorgensen, Ottawa mayor, permission to execute a project agreement with the Kansas Department of Transportation that will add turning lanes — on the north side of K-68 as well as on Davis Road — and a traffic signal at the busy intersection. The project also will include sidewalks along K-68 and Davis Road at and near the intersection, as well as improvements to the stormwater drainage system at the intersection, Andy Haney, the city’s public works director, told commissioners Wednesday.

Under the agreement, KDOT agrees to cover $1,461,000 of the project, which Haney said is the estimated cost of the work. KDOT engineers also designed the improvements to the intersection.

Haney told commissioners the city would be responsible for the cost of securing easements and moving city utilities — which has already taken place. 

The city’s cost is expected to be about $150,000, which Jorgensen said sounded like a lot of money but was a bargain for the residents of Ottawa when the benefits of relieving traffic congestion and allowing for the expansion of the industrial park are factored into the decision. Jorgensen said some industrial park tenants have expressed reluctance to expand their operations until the intersection was improved.

Traffic can become congested at that intersection during certain periods of the day, especially during shift changes at American Eagle in the industrial park, Haney added.

Haney told commissioners state and city officials hoped to get the bid for the project in December and begin construction in 2013. Construction is anticipated to take five months, Haney said, with north-south access on Davis Road closed to traffic during a portion of that period. He said a detour route would be worked out, and city officials would be meeting with stakeholders affected by the road closing to discuss the detour and traffic flow well in advance of construction.

Richard Nienstedt, city manager, and Jorgensen on Wednesday credited state Sen. Pat Apple and state Rep. Bill Feuerborn — as well as other state legislators — with lobbying on the city’s behalf for the project, which they said has been several years in the making.