Editorial: Road construction will bring inconvenience, but better traveling days ahead
Perhaps the largest road project in River Falls is poised to begin in a month. The work will take a year and cost almost $6 million.
Perhaps the largest road project in River Falls is poised to begin in a month. The work will take a year and cost almost $6 million.
It will rebuild and modify a stretch of East Cascade Avenue between Spruce and Sixth streets that’s believed to have been built around the time of World War II. It will also replace aging utilities, including original clay-tile water and sewer mains.
That section of Cascade has long had an ugly reputation for its battered, crumbling, patched-over surface. Through the years there’ve also been a number of vehicle-pedestrian accidents as college students cross back and forth en masse for classes on campus.
East Cascade was designed for a bygone era. River Falls 70 years later has about five times as many people. The university has also multiplied in size and enrollment.
The newly designed Cascade will eliminate street parking; become narrower for easier foot crossings; have more lighting for improved nighttime visibility; have a bicycle lane; median landscaping for aesthetics and to prevent mid-block crossings; and two roundabouts at Second and Sixth streets to keep traffic moving.
This spring and summer will see some detours as East Cascade is closed and ripped apart. This will affect not only traffic in and out of campus, but also those who normally drive Cascade to get to other places. Signs will be posted to redirect drivers to alternative routes.
Drivers will have to plan for detours until Nov. 2 when all construction except for some landscaping is completed.
We think the wait and inconveniences will be well worth it when the new-look East Cascade Avenue is back in business. For those who still have questions on what lies ahead, the city has set up a public meeting starting at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 22, in the Training Room of City Hall.
Representatives from the contractor will be there to discuss the plan and answer questions. A formal presentation will be made at 6:30 p.m. followed by a Q&A for the audience.
Those curious can also visit this website at www.uwrf.edu.CascadeProject.
Follow developments on the roadwork by going to Facebook at “City of River Falls Cascade Project Updates.”
The Journal’s online poll question this week asked: Will you be watching Green Bay Packer receiver Donald Driver when he performs as a contestant on ‘Dancing with the Stars’?
Early results: NOT A CHANCE, 81.3%; YOU BET, 12.5%; OFF AND ON, 6.3%.
To add your vote, go to www.riverfallsjournal.com.
Tags: opinion, editorials, traffic
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