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PITTSBURG —
As part of the highway construction process, federal and state agencies have to complete an environmental assessment, gauging everything from endangered species to floodplains to displaced homes in the path of a proposed road.
On Aug. 16, there will be an open house from 5-7 p.m. at the Pittsburg Memorial Auditorium hosted by the Kansas Department of Transportation to share the environmental assessment of the proposed Crawford County Corridor portion of U.S. Highway 69. However, the information in that environmental assessment is already public information.
The Crawford County Corridor is a proposed 18-mile bypass of U.S. 69 through the county starting north of Arma and ending at the Cherokee-Crawford county line. The project is not funded by any current projects and is likely at least 20-30 years away from any type of construction.
The environmental assessment notes that the current alignment of U.S. 69 has many intersections, but is notably reaching the end of its projected use as currently designed.
The current annual average daily traffic is about 11,300 vehicles per day at U.S. 69 and K-126 (Fourth Street), which amounts to a two-way peak-hour flow rate of about 1,289 passenger-car vehicles per hour. What do those statistics mean? It means the road gets a level-of-service grade of D, and isn’t expected to improve by 2031.
Anything above a C the standard for new highways. As described, a D means “unstable traffic flow... Passing demand is high, but passing capacity approaches zero. Turning vehicles and roadside distractions cause major shock waves in the traffic stream.”
Further, safety studies show that the current portion of U.S. 69 has a higher accident rate than similar roads in the state, and that the average freeway in the state has about half the accident rate. Similarly, although the fatality rate is below the state average for a similar road type, the state average for a freeway is still nearly three times less comparatively.
The preferred route, which would swing westward from Arma past Atkinson Municipal Airport, before coming back east of Chicopee, is anticipated to cut travel times for local trips and improve traffic safety.
The assessment notes four primary residential areas would be affected by the preferred route right-of-way, including a cluster of homes near where the road would cross K-126 and Quincy Street, as well as a pair of platted subdivisions with homes and unimproved properties at Atkinson and 600th Avenue.
As part of the highway construction process, federal and state agencies have to complete an environmental assessment, gauging everything from endangered species to floodplains to displaced homes in the path of a proposed road.
On Aug. 16, there will be an open house from 5-7 p.m. at the Pittsburg Memorial Auditorium hosted by the Kansas Department of Transportation to share the environmental assessment of the proposed Crawford County Corridor portion of U.S. Highway 69. However, the information in that environmental assessment is already public information.
The Crawford County Corridor is a proposed 18-mile bypass of U.S. 69 through the county starting north of Arma and ending at the Cherokee-Crawford county line. The project is not funded by any current projects and is likely at least 20-30 years away from any type of construction.
The environmental assessment notes that the current alignment of U.S. 69 has many intersections, but is notably reaching the end of its projected use as currently designed.
The current annual average daily traffic is about 11,300 vehicles per day at U.S. 69 and K-126 (Fourth Street), which amounts to a two-way peak-hour flow rate of about 1,289 passenger-car vehicles per hour. What do those statistics mean? It means the road gets a level-of-service grade of D, and isn’t expected to improve by 2031.
Anything above a C the standard for new highways. As described, a D means “unstable traffic flow... Passing demand is high, but passing capacity approaches zero. Turning vehicles and roadside distractions cause major shock waves in the traffic stream.”
Further, safety studies show that the current portion of U.S. 69 has a higher accident rate than similar roads in the state, and that the average freeway in the state has about half the accident rate. Similarly, although the fatality rate is below the state average for a similar road type, the state average for a freeway is still nearly three times less comparatively.
The preferred route, which would swing westward from Arma past Atkinson Municipal Airport, before coming back east of Chicopee, is anticipated to cut travel times for local trips and improve traffic safety.
The assessment notes four primary residential areas would be affected by the preferred route right-of-way, including a cluster of homes near where the road would cross K-126 and Quincy Street, as well as a pair of platted subdivisions with homes and unimproved properties at Atkinson and 600th Avenue.
The report says that about 44 residences and families would be impacted by the proposed project. The route also could significantly affect three businesses: AJL Machine Shop and Welding, Downing Motor Services, and Steve Gepford Trucking. Interestingly, the KDOT office building is also within the acquisition areas.
Economically, the report anticipates travel-related businesses being negatively impacted by the new bypass, including restaurants, gas stations, hotels and vehicle repair shops, yet also “provide new economic development and growth opportunities, especially at interchange locations,” providing prime real estate for commercial growth.
The report notes that floodplain impacts are unavoidable, and the preferred route includes about 188 acres of 100-year floodplain. The road would cross Dry Branch Cox Creek twice, First Cow Creek, Second Cow Creek and several unnamed streams. There would be some “unvaoidable channelization” that could occur where the road crosses these sites.
The assessment indicates no major impacts to vegetation, beyond removing plants to build the road. The same is true of local wildlife, stating the impacts would be short-term at worst.
There are only two federally endangered or threatened species in the area, the gray bat and Mead’s milkweed. A team of botanists found no evidence of the latter in the proposed route, and gray bats will need to be further studied, the report says. Further, only three other state threatened species (broadhead skink, redbelly snake, and spring peeper) could live in the corridor, which could be mitigated by tree plantings and restrictions on the construction period.
The report does say that it is likely that business will expand in Pittsburg, Frontenac and Arma as a result of the freeway construction.
Copies of the environmental assessment can be viewed at the KDOT District Four Office in Chanute, the KDOT area office at 1813 W. Fourth in Pittsburg, the Federal Highway Administration in Topeka, the Pittsburg City Hall, the Pittsburg Public Library, the Frontenac City Hall, the Arma City Hall and the Crawford County Courthouse in Girard. It can also be viewed online at tinyurl.com/d5nxruv.
Andrew Nash can be reached at andrew.nash@morningsun.net or by calling 231-2600 ext. 140.
