Preliminary work will begin Jan. 17 on a project to improve a pair of intersections on Miller Road in Imperial.
Jefferson County Public Works Director Jason Jonas said Spring Forest Road at Miller Road will be closed so crews from Gershenson Construction Co. in Eureka can begin preparing a new approach for Spring Forest to Miller.
He said trees will be cleared and the slope off the new road will be reinforced. While that work is going on, Miller Road will remain open.
While Spring Forest Road is closed at Miller, traffic will be detoured north on Old Lemay Ferry Road to Vogel Road.
Jonas said the Miller-Spring Forest intersection needs the improvement.
“We are seeing a high crash rate in this area, with very limited sight distance and a big curve on Miller Road leading into the intersection, which meets at a Y,” he said.
Jonas said the intersection will be realigned to meet at a 90-degree angle, and 3- to 5-foot hills on Miller leading into the junction will be reduced in a further effort to improve sight distance for motorists.
“We’ll also have a turn lane and 1-foot shoulders on both Miller and Spring Forest,” he said.
Once the Spring Forest approach to Miller is complete, the work at the intersection will begin, likely in February, Jonas said.
At about the same time, construction work will begin about a half-mile to the northeast on Miller Road at the entrance to the Country Wood Estates subdivision.
Jonas said the major problem there is a length of Miller Road is crowned, or designed to drain stormwater off both sides.
“It’s a curve that’s south of the intersection (of Country Wood Drive and Miller) that’s the problem,” he said. “Because of the crown, (northbound) motorists taking the curve at too high a rate of speed can be pulled near or off the road.”
Crews from Gershenson will rework the curve so it more resembles a racetrack, with a slight bank to discourage vehicles from leaving the road, Jonas said.
“Also, we’ll be installing guardrails on the outside of the curve so cars won’t be going into yards or hitting the houses, which has happened,” he said.
That portion of the project also will include curbs and gutters along six to eight houses to promote stormwater draining into a nearby tributary of Rock Creek, he said.
Jonas said depending on the weather, the improvements on both portions should be finished by mid-June.
Gershenson was the only bidder for the work at $1,142,954.
The federal government will pay for 70 percent of the work at Spring Forest Road and 80 percent of the cost of the work near Country Wood Drive, with the rest coming from the county’s share of a countywide 1/2-cent sales tax for road and bridge improvements.
The section of Miller Road that includes both intersections typically carries 6,482 vehicles per day, according to county records.