Hills & Heights
Jahnke Road project will improve safety for motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists
Trees have come down along Jahnke and new power poles are starting to go up.
Trees have been removed along Jahnke Road and a few new power poles are starting to pop-up. This the first visible signs of the Jahnke Road Improvement Project. The project is designed to improve traffic safety, improve traffic flow, and allow for safer travel by pedestrians and bicyclists. Along with a shared use path, sidewalks, and landscaping residents will be saying goodbye to the open ditch that runs parallel to Jahnke.
The official goals from the city’s project website:
- Raised 16-ft landscaped median separating two travel lanes (one lane in each direction)
- New curb and gutter
- New storm sewer system
- Left turn lanes are provided at Newell Road, Spruance Road, Forestview School Drive (entrance to Elizabeth Redd Elementary School), Irby Drive and Leicester Road
- 5-ft sidewalk with a 6-ft green space for landscaping on the south side of Jahnke Road
- 8-ft shared use path with a 8-ft green space for landscaping on the north side of Jahnke Road
- ADA (American with Disabilities Act) compliant for pedestrian traffic and bus commuters
- New Signal at Forestview School Drive (entrance to Elizabeth Redd Elementary School)
- Safety improvements at CSX rail crossing
Don’t expect to be enjoying the new road and sidewalks anytime soon though. The project is quite lengthy.
We’ve just started the utility coordination/relocation and the actual road construction is expected to take another two years. In theory, we’ll be rolling on a new road in 2020.
