The intersection of State Highway 22 and County Road QQ is scheduled to be reconstructed in 2012.
During an operational planning meeting Monday at Dayton Town Hall, Dayton Chairman Jim Peglow and Waupaca County Highway Commissioner Dean Steingraber requested that a roundabout be considered at the intersection.
Debra Webb-Franseen, a design project manager in the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s Wisconsin Rapids office, said there were discussion in the past about constructing a roundabout at the intersection. However, the idea was turned down.
She told Peglow and Steingraber Monday that they can request that it be considered.
Peglow and Steingraber will be making that request to the DOT in writing.
The present plan for the intersection calls for it to be reconstructed with the addition of a designated left-turn lane for northbound State 22 traffic turning left onto County QQ. There would also be a right-turn lane for southbound State 22 traffic turning right onto County QQ.
In addition, the elevation of the curve on State 22, west of the intersection, will be reviewed.
The approximate cost of the project is $600,000, with funding the Highway Safety Improvement Project due to the high number of accidents there.
Steingraber said some people avoid this intersection, and many parents of children who have just started driving do not want their children driving through the intersection.
Several years ago, a teenage girl was killed in an accident at the intersection days after receiving her driver’s license, he said.
“We will determine if it’s the right fit for there,” Webb-Franseen said of the request for a roundabout at the intersection.
The Waupaca County Highway Department will also do a traffic count, taking into consideration the traffic on Old Highway 22.
Ryan Barz said there are no numbers for that leg in the intersection. He is the project manager at Point of Beginning in Stevens Point, the firm hired by the DOT to facilitate the design of the project.
Both Peglow and Steingraber said there is a lot of traffic on Old Highway 22, with that area being residential and slated for more residential growth as part of Dayton’s comprehensive plan.
Steingraber said the problem at the intersection is speed and traffic.
Webb-Franseen said if there would be a roundabout at the intersection, the town would want lighting there.
The state could share costs with Dayton on the installation of a new lighting system, she said. Maintenance would be the town’s cost.
During Monday’s meeting, Peglow said the town board has been discussing lighting issues for the last two to three months due to the fact that lights cost Dayton $13,000 per year.
“It’s not a tremendous amount to other municipalities,” he said, “but in our budget, it is a significant amount.”
A public informational meeting about the issue is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 20, at the town hall.