Iowa DOT proposes three-lane for portion of 10th Avenue North
An official ribbon cutting ceremony was held at the new Wildcat Wonderland Playground at Taft Park and Taft Elementary School in Humboldt on Tuesday, Oct. 4. Students, staff and school and city officials were on hand for the special event. Clay Vorland, director of parks for the city of Humboldt, is shown here cutting the ribbon. Independent photo. Purchase this and other photos by clicking on the Buy a Photo link at the top of this page.
By KENT THOMPSON
Installing new traffic stoplights on Highway 3 (10th Avenue North) by Hy-Vee may not be warranted or economical, but the Iowa Department of Transportation threw out an idea that it thinks the city of Humboldt should consider.
Going from four lanes of traffic to three in the area between the intersection with Highway 169 (13th Street) and 5th Street North.
The change would have single east and west lanes of travel with a center turn lane over the eight blocks of Highway entering and exiting town to the east.
Iowa DOT District 2 Assistant Engineer Nickolas Humpal said the amount of traffic in the span of highway between 5th Street North and Highway 169 is an average of 5,600 vehicles a day. He said that number is well below what would be considered optimal for a four-way traffic control device and for a four-lane highway.
“I think bagging the lights may be a step in the right direction, but for operational safety concerns, I think going from a four-lane highway to a three-lane would handle the flow of traffic and would improve safety for turning traffic [off of 5th Street North, Taft Street North and Jerry Hatcher Road],” Humpal said. Read more about this discussion and other Humboldt City Council matters in this week's Humboldt Independent. Subscribe by clicking on the link at the top of this page.
