CITY SETS HEARING ON EXTENSION OF MOUNT AUBURN

Plans to extend Mount Auburn Road from Bloomfield Road south to Silver Springs Road will create added benefits for commercial property owners in the area. But it also will mean some added costs to them.

Anyone who owns property along the proposed extension will be assessed a tax bill of up to $56 per foot plus land acquisition costs.

A public hearing on the project is set for 7: 30 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 401 Independence.

The assessment is the maximum amount set by city policy. If property owners donate right of way needed for the project, they likely won't be assessed more than the $56 amount, said City Engineer Mark Lester.

Street improvements in commercial areas like Mount Auburn Road are generally more costly because the road has to be built sturdy enough to withstand plenty of wear and tear.

"It's part of doing business," Lester said.

The road will be concrete pavement 7 inches thick and 48 feet wide with concrete curbs and storm-sewer drains. When complete, it will look much like the existing portion of the street.

Mount Auburn Road will be constructed in two phases. The extension from Bloomfield Road to Missouri Route 74 will cost about $350,000. No estimate has been given for the second phase that will extend the road south to Silver Springs Road.

The Mount Auburn extension has been part of the city's long-range plans since the late 1960s. Once Interstate 55 was built, the idea was to create another arterial street that would provide a circumferential route around the city, said City Planner Kent Bratton.

When Mount Auburn is complete, it will provide another arterial route through the city. It connects to Lexington Avenue, which then connects with Sprigg Street. Sprigg Street connects to Highway 74, and Highway 74 connects with Interstate 55.

"If you want to go all the way around the city, it can be done," Bratton said.

Mount Auburn Road is classified as a secondary arterial street, which means it is a major street but doesn't carry as much traffic as Kingshighway, William Street or Highway 74.

However, traffic signals or stop signs will be necessary once the road is complete. How much traffic will travel the road determines whether a stop sign or signal is installed, said Lester.

National standards set criteria for determining if a traffic signal is warranted at an intersection. There are 11 criteria needed for a signal. If the intersection doesn't meet any of them, no signal can be installed. Only two criteria must be met for a two-way stop, and three or four are needed to install a four-way stop at an intersection.

Lester said once Mount Auburn is finished and the city knows what sort of traffic it will carry, stop signs likely will be installed on the side streets.

"There is a chance for a four-way like Siemers at the Bloomfield intersection," he said.

With traffic signals, "you start at the low end and go up," Lester said, so expect few stoplights along the new road. Another four-way stop likely will be installed at the Silver Springs intersection.

The state already has wired the intersection at Highway 74 and Mount Auburn for traffic signals, he said.

The problem with installing too many traffic signals too close together is timing. "You have to make sure you can get traffic from light A through light B before light A changes again," Lester said.

A general rule of thumb is to keep 1,000 feet between signals so no traffic is backed up onto a highway or major street. That's why there isn't a four-way stop or traffic signal at the intersection of St. Francis Drive and Gordonville Road, he said.

"You don't want traffic backing up on a highway," Lester said.