MONROE — An intersection already designated by the city as a candidate for improvement will also likely be the main culprit once the new high school is built.

At the Feb. 12 School District of Monroe Board of Education meeting, Fehr Graham’s Jesse Duff summarized the results of the traffic impact analysis study the district had done in order to determine not only peak time impacts, but to better understand what to designate as the main and secondary entrances to the school.

“There’s a lot of analysis that goes on,” Duff said. “We do traffic counts from around the existing school; we do traffic counts around the new school; and then we predict how much traffic will be generated with the new school.”

The study checked multiple combinations of entrances, including the future access-way to 31st Avenue, the proposed County KK entrance, and possible entrances to the north along 8 1/2 Street extended and 6 1/2 Street. Further yet, the study projected traffic at main intersections in the surrounding areas, including nearby highways and oft-traveled city streets. 

In all, nine intersections were studied according to eight different scenarios.

Each combination saw its share of challenges in the area, and nearly all would likely pass the standard grade for traffic flow.

Except one: The intersection of 31st Avenue and 13th Street, which continues east out of the city as County KK.

“In all of our scenarios, it does get worse because we are going to generate more traffic along 13th. There will be more stacking involved in the north-bound and south-bound directions,” Duff said.

The City of Monroe has been long aware that the 31st Ave/13th Street intersection is in need of revamping, and there are a few different options to do so.

One proposal is to make the intersection, which is already off-set by about 100 feet, an all-way stop. Doing so would allow traffic southbound from 31st Avenue to travel more fluidly — especially in the afternoon when it already sees slight delays as parents pick up their children from Northside Elementary just up the street.

A second proposal would be to widen the roads and add left-turn lanes. 

The study gives each intersection a grade for traffic fluidity and lag time, from A-through-F, similar to school scores for students. Anything from A to D is passing, while E and F are failing grades. Currently, the 31st/13th intersection has an E grade in the afternoon for southbound traffic, and with the new school in place, it turns to an F in every situation.

School District Superintendent Rodney Figueroa said three weeks ago that the project would be utilizing the not-yet created 31st Avenue driveway as the main entrance during construction. However, that location would most likely become the secondary entrance once the school opens for instruction. 

The proposed KK entrance, located about 1,000 feet from Radio Lane near the Wis. 11/81 intersection, is planned to be nearly a mile long and is expected to cost nearly $1.5 million to construct. While the road has long been the expected primary road throughout the early planning stages, a new option has come forward in recent months, which could save the district money.

Bader-Spidahl, LLC, (B&S) the owners of the land the district came to terms with for the new high school campus, recently bought the 47 acres directly to the north. The company is planning a housing development on the land. Duff said Fehr Graham estimates 113 new residential plots in the subdivision, which was included in their analysis. The subdivision would likely have connecting roadways at 6 1/2 Street and/or 8 1/2 Street directly to the east of Northside Elementary School. Either street would likely run along the northern edge of the new high school property, allowing for a shorter, less complex road to run up to the school.

Figueroa said that the district has several months — potentially even a year — to come to updated negotiated terms with B&S on the potential change before construction of the second entrance begins. He said only one road will be built for the school — either the KK entrance from the south, or from the B&S housing development to the north.

To read the full traffic study, or to watch the Board of Education meeting, go to the MHS Building Projects Updates section on the school district’s website at https://www.monroeschools.com/district/mhs-building-project-updates.cfm.