Mr. Answer Person puts on a hard hat to answer all your highway questions

A number of you must have taken road trips because Mr. Answer Person's mailbox is stuffed with questions about roads and highways.

Dear Answer Guy:  Why are there stop signs on Fifth Avenue at Riverside Drive?  I don't understand why these are needed."
--Craig

Mr. Answer Person says:  There are several reasons for putting stop signs at the intersection (see picture).  First of all, the intersection has a lot of pedestrian traffic, especially Luther College students who run from campus, head to the Fifth Avenue Bridge and need a way to avoid being hit by traffic.  Secondly, traffic coming into Decorah on Fifth Avenue tends to be driving at higher speeds than the speed limit on Fifth Avenue.  Finally, there are some issues with homeowner access to fifth Avenue near the intersection and the stop signs allow them a safer way to exit their driveways.

That said, some city officials also question the need for the stop signs.  If you think they ought to be removed, your best bet is to state your case to the city's Streets Committee.

Dear Mr. Answer Person: Why is there no designated truck route around Decorah, as you see in most other towns?  It would seem a much safer alternative than sending 53 foot semi-trailers down Water Street."
--John

City officials agree with you, John, that sending 53-foot semi-trailers down Water Street isn't a good idea.  However, there are issues with other alternatives.  Main Street and Broadway Street also have high traffic levels and if you use one of those streets you also have the problem of getting 53-foot long semi-trailers to turn the corners to head to Main Street or Broadway.  City officials even discussed using Ice Cave Road, but gave up on that idea, concluding the road wasn't suitable. 

In short, having a designated truck route is a great idea--but city officials can't figure out what it should be!  Again, if you have an idea, the city's Streets Committee is the group to contact.

Why are there not right and left turn lanes on Highway 52 and Pole Line Road? It is a spot that really needs them for safety sake. If you have ever been coming down the hills with a semi truck on your tail and no turn lane to take when turning, it is a little scary.
--Rachel

Mr. Answer Person disagrees.  It is A LOT scary, not a little!!  Actually, there are left turn lanes on Highway 52 at Pole Line Road, but not right turn lanes.  And the traffic DOES travel quickly down the hill heading south.  However, given the current condition of most road budgets, it seems unlikely that any improvements will be made to this intersection in the near future.

Dear Mr. Answer Person:

I wonder why this second cut next to the original was favored over adding a bike lane to the East side of the existing bridge on Hwy 52 at the Cut?  It seems like it would have made an easier to bike and walk segment of the trail, and less labor intensive than moving tons and tons of rock and blasting through the Hillside again.  Are there dollar figures from the engineers for comparison?  Will the rock from this new cut be used for other parts of the trail?
--Ted

Wow!  That's a lot of questions!  So Mr. Answer Person consulted with City Engineer Lindsay Erdman, who had this to say:

"There were approximately 10 different options considered for the Cut crossing. At least 4 of these involved a bridge option of some type. One of those was widening of the present bridge on the east side. When we approached the DOT with this idea they expressed concern about the unique type (Spandrel Arch construction) of the existing bridge and the resulting difficulties in a widening option as well as the possibilities of negatively effecting the aesthetic of the bridge. There was not a good way to overcome these concerns.

We then considered a bridge alongside the existing bridge but the length, lack of room for construction and the bridge, safety issues with the closeness of the overhanging rock for both construction and the trail itself lead us to abandon this idea. It isn't obvious unless you are standing alongside the existing bridge, but the closeness of the traffic and the noise of the rumblestrips was also a concern for trail users. Rock removal along that rock face also was problematic because of the Hwy #52 traffic safety and lack of a reasonable detour.

In some of these options cost was not the primary concern if safety and constructability were too difficult to accommodate.

This eventually lead to the current configuration and the rock removal.
While dramatic, the rock removal has been very competitive with the bridge options and with a fraction of the Hwy #52 related issues, both for riders as well as construction. The current location was chosen to move the new Cut away from the present one in order to try to minimize the changes to the original Cut. Obviously the removal of the top of the hill and the new slot will be a change, but the original Cut and related shape and features will remain relatively intact.

The trade off for the new location will be the grade to reach the crossing. This was weighed against the above factors as well as the issues of riding alongside highway and a vertical rock face of the Cut of at least 55' while the trail cut will be roughly half that. And, particularly in the spring and fall there was an aesthetic consideration for the view offered by the new location."

Thank you, readers, for all your questions.  Mr. Answer Person is taking a break for awhile to eat lutefisk and lefse.  He will return some time next week!

The stop sign at Fifth Avenue and Riverside Drive