By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
Barton County Engineer Barry McManaman went before the Barton County Commission Tuesday morning seeking approval of a bid to widen an existing reinforced concrete box bridge on Northwest 10 Avenue. The location of the bridge is about a half mile north of the Great Bend city limits on McKinley Street.
While discussing the matter, McManaman was asked about the speed limit on north McKinley. Coming into town, a section is 35 miles per hour, but the same portion going northbound out of town is 55 miles per hour.
"The guidelines on that are if you're slowing down more than 10 miles per hour, you're supposed to put in an advanced warning sign, one of those diamond-shaped signs warning you that it's 35 miles per hour coming up. I wonder if maybe at some point in time a sign got knocked down and instead of an advanced warning sign, a 35 got put up in its place. Then that created that staggered speed zone."
While the intention is to slow traffic down as they enter city limits, McManaman said staggered speed limits should not exist and he will look into rezoning the street.
The repair to the Reinforced Concrete Box (RCB) on north McKinley should improve safety once the work by L & M Contractors is complete.
"This will get that drop-off out of the way from the edge of the road," said McManaman. "Then you don't require the guardrails. You're eliminating an obstruction just by doing that. Some of these old guardrails on our boxes are very short and don't serve a lot of function."
The Commission approved the bid from L & M for $87,713 to widen the RCB. Work should begin next February.