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City to fund SD-34 turn lane
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By CHUCK CLEMENT, Staff Reporter
| 07/28/2009 |
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The city of Madison will help James River Equipment Co. with its move to a new location along SD-34 by contributing $125,000 for the construction of a new highway turn lane southeast of the community. The Lake Area Improvement Corporation, whose executive director is Dwaine Chapel, made the request to the city on behalf of the John Deere dealership, which is moving from its old location south of Madison on 455th Ave. to a new business area east of Lakeview Industrial Park. The turning lane, which is currently under construction, will help customers and suppliers drive in and out of James River Equipment's lot by way of SD-34.
The management of the Madison John Deere dealership plans to open the new facility in mid-October.
Chapel said the city, LAIC, state Department of Transportation and James River Equipment had worked together in organizing the construction of the new turn lane, but the project wasn't part of the state's current highway improvement plan. That meant SDDOT hadn't appropriated any funding for the construction of the turn lane and the $125,000 needed for building costs would have to come from another source.
"South Dakota DOT didn't have the project among its plans, and we wanted to get the project under way," Chapel said. "James River Equipment plans to have the new location open in mid-October."
According to Chapel, the construction contractor plans to have the new turn lane finished by Aug. 7, if the weather cooperates.
Commissioner Karen Lembcke told the other commissioners at Monday's city meeting that LAIC officials had discussed the funding issue during a meeting held last week. Lembcke said the LAIC board wanted to know if the city would pay for all or part of the construction project.
The commissioners asked Chad Comes, city engineer, if the money needed for building the new turn lane could come from federal stimulus funding that Madison received earlier this year. The stipulations for receiving the federal economic stimulus money included directives to use the funding for construction projects that were active and "shovel-ready," not just under consideration.
Comes told the commissioner that transportation officials will probably perform the necessary financial transfers that would direct the $125,000 needed for the turn lane construction from Madison's stimulus funds.
The city commissioners also discussed the amount of responsibility that the state and James River Equipment have toward the construction of the turn lane on SD-34. They also asked if the SDDOT would take responsibility for maintaining that addition to the highway. Comes said the state has accepted maintenance responsibilities for new construction in the past.
Commissioner Nick Abraham pointed out that the new turn lane is located outside the Madison city limits, and the city has no direct responsibility toward paying for the project. Abraham added that the city won't have the $125,000 used for the turn lane project available for street construction projects within Madison. He said the reduced availability of stimulus funding could delay city street improvements.
The city commissioners voted 4-1 to approve funding the SD-34 turn lane with Mayor Gene Hexom and commissioners Lembcke, Dick Ericsson and Scott Delzer voting yes and Abraham voting no.
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©Madison Daily Leader 2009
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