New traffic controls in the form of stop signs and reduced speed limit will be introduced on 190th Street east of Afton after the Union County Board of Supervisors approved the change in a 2-1 vote.
Also called School Road, this 1 1/2 mile long segment of rock road in question underwent heavy maintenance and reshaping over the summer in preparation for school-year traffic.
Recent additional safety concerns have been raised by the public, however, with special regard to an underpass that the road segment uses to cross underneath the railroad that runs parallel to Highway 169.
The underpass is 24 feet wide, and, though Union County Engineer Zach Gunsolley explains it is wide enough for two cars to pass, safety in icy winter conditions may still be an issue.
“That is wide enough for two cars to pass,” said Gunsolley. “It’s just that psychologically, when you’re meeting someone in such a restriction, with a perceived obstacle up above, it puts you on edge.”
At the board’s regular Monday meeting, a motion was made and passed to add a stop sign on either side of the underpass, and incorporate a reduced speed limit of 40 miles per hour. The speed limit was previously a statuary limit of 55 mph in the day and 50 at night.
The Union County Engineer’s Office expects the changes to be made within several weeks, depending on signage availability.
