Motorists – particularly those who drive Seckman Road and those who visit Mastodon State Historic Site in Imperial – are invited to give their opinions about planned improvements to the road as it passes by the park entrance.
The Jefferson County Public Works Department will hold a virtual public hearing via the Zoom teleconferencing app to talk about plans that have been drawn up to address ongoing safety concerns with a .56-mile stretch of Seckman Road from west of the West Outer Road through the park entrances to the Summerfield subdivision.
The meeting will be held from 4-7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 10.
Information about the project and a link to the meeting will be posted at
jeffcomo.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=57.
Public Works Director Jason Jonas said the meeting will be held virtually because of concerns about COVID-19.
“We’ll have a consultant do a presentation on what’s planned in the area and show information. I’m not sure how the rest of the meeting will be formatted, but certainly we will give direction to anyone who has questions or concerns on how they can present their opinions to the county.”
Jonas said the improvement project will be completed in two phases, the first of which will be the emphasis of the Feb. 10 public hearing.
“In the first phase, we’re looking to widen Seckman Road from 22 feet – two driving lanes 11 feet wide – to have 12-foot lanes with an 8-foot shoulder on the south side of the road through the park, completing 8-foot shoulders at the Outer Road and at the subdivision, and on the north side, a three-foot curb and gutter along the bluffs,” he said.
“With steep slopes, drop-offs and the lack of shoulders, it makes it very dangerous for pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers to access the state park. There have been many accidents along this stretch of road.”
The other element of the first phase will be to lower a high point of Seckman Road at the park entrance by 5 feet.
“The sight lines at the entrance are a big problem,” he said. “By lowering the road, that will improve the conditions for people coming in the park and those leaving the park.”
Construction of the first phase may begin in spring 2022, with work to be finished by the fall.
“About six to eight months after that, we’re planning Phase 2,” Jonas said.
The second phase, for which another public hearing will be held, will involve raising a portion of Seckman Road, about 1,000 to 1,200 feet long, out of the flood plain. That section is between the I-55 Outer Road and the east entrance to the park.
“Those familiar with that area know that it floods almost every year, for about 24 hours at a time,” Jonas said. “We’d like to correct that.”
Jonas said he believes people who live and work in the area should welcome the improvements to the busy section of road that carries about 10,900 vehicles per day.
“A lot of people have been waiting for us to improve Seckman Road for years,” he said.
The estimated cost of the first phase is $1,242,000, with the federal government paying 70 percent through a safety grant, with the rest coming through the county’s share of a countywide 1/2-cent sales tax for road and bridge improvements.