The Lincoln County Commission signed a Cooperative Action Agreement with the city of Harrisburg last week that will allow for the construction of a temporary stoplight at the intersection of Willow Street and the entrance to the high school.
The county passed a resolution on May 8, 2007 that allows it to enter into such agreements for traffic projects as long as the project cost is under $25,000.
“The reasoning behind that obviously was that if we went over that, we’d need to let it out for bids,” Deputy Assistant State’s Attorney Mike Nadolski said.
The first time the authority was used was the summer of 2007, when the county paid just under $20,000 for a temporary stop light at the intersection of Highways 111 and 106 in Tea.
With a new high school set to open this fall and a series of plans falling into place to manage pedestrian and vehicle traffic on Willow Street, the Harrisburg City Council inquired last fall about county help on a traffic light project.
“It was proposed by us to do what we did in Tea and install a four-phase stop light at that intersection,” Nadolski said.
The county will pay Action Electric of Sioux Falls $23,658 for the lights; the city will pay for the electricity and the upkeep.
If Willow Street is widened in the future, the stoplight may be improved from a hanging light to a sturdier, city-style light, Project Manager Chad Hanisch said.
The city maintenance department plans to build an unpaved walking path from the north edge of Honeysuckle Drive to a cross walk at the stoplight, he said, but road improvements would mean improvements to the path.
“At some point, when the road is improved, there will be sidewalks there,” Hanisch said.
The city has bids out for a turning lane project at the entrance, too.
All three projects should be in place prior to the start of the 2009-10 school year, Maintenance Superintendent Dan Fink said.