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Edgerton Considers Consolidation with Water 7, Homestead Lane Interchange Announced

Posted on Nov. 18th, 2010

Peter Solie
GardnerEDGE

KDOT is proposing a Diverging Diamond Interchange for Homestead Lane.

Proposed Water 7 Consolidation

The City of Edgerton considers consolidation of its water services with Johnson County Water District 7. Allan Soetaert, Manager of the District and Bill Gay, Chairman of the Board of Directors from Water District 7 were available to answer questions from the Edgerton City Council.

Water District 7 has rates that are approximately 1/3 cheaper than City of Edgerton rates. If consolidated, City of Edgerton customers would pay a rate less than the current rate, but more than the current Water 7 rate until 2023. Thereafter, all debt associated with City of Edgerton water services would be retired and City of Edgerton residents would pay on the Water 7 schedule.

Mayor Roberts said, “If we can save the citizens money them we should look at moving forward.” Presently the City’s water service is a break-even operation, so there is no financial loss for the City. Additionally, the move would free staff from the time necessary to prepare water bills, read meters and service the water lines.

There was some discussion as to whether the City would have Water 7 include sewer and trash fees on their bill or if the City would continue to bill for those services. No decisions were made on this or other related issues. David Dillner and Allan Soetaert will continue to meet and work out an agreement for Council consideration, including an option for billing services.

Council members also discussed the issue of leverage for those not paying their sewer and trash bills. The Council was concerned that under current operations, a non-payer’s water is cut-off, but if they couldn’t turn off the water there would be little incentive to the pay the sewer and trash bill if funds were tight. Again, it was determined that a solution to this issue would be reached in the coming weeks.

Bill Gay stated his intent to be fair to both the current Water 7 customers and Edgerton Customers. He said, “Water 7 customers will not subsidize Edgerton customers and Edgerton customers will not subsidize Water 7 customers. After all the debt is paid, all customers will be treated equally.”

Comprehensive Plan

The Council reviewed an update to the City’s comprehensive plan. The Council discussed an expansion of the downtown “commercial district” to the west and north. There were no specific boundaries proposed, but the Council was in general agreement on the need for a larger commercial district if it is to be a viable business/service/government services area.

Homestead Road Interchange

David Dillner presented a plan from the Kansas Department of Transportation for the Homestead Road Interchange. According to the Agenda:

The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) has selected a Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI) configuration as the solution to the volume and type of traffic that will be managed now and into the future. The DDI is a form of diamond interchange, which requires traffic on Homestead Lane to briefly drive on the opposite side of the road.
For more information, see the project website at: http://i35swjohnsoncointerchange.ksdot.org/

What is a Diverging Diamond Interchange? A diverging diamond interchange is a unique form of diamond interchange in which the two directions of traffic on the non-interstate roadway cross to the opposite side of the road at each ramp intersection (see figure on page 2). Drivers approaching the first ramp intersection can either turn right or proceed through the intersection by crossing to the opposite side of the road from which they are accustomed to. At the next intersection, drivers are free to make an unopposed left turn or they may choose to continue through the intersection and cross back to the right side of the road. The DDI allows for a two-phase traffic signal operation at the ramp intersections and significantly improves safety since left turn movements do not conflict with opposing through movements. Additionally, the DDI improves the efficiency of an interchange, as the lost time for various phases in the cycle can be redistributed as green time; there are only two clearance intervals (the time for traffic signals to change from green to yellow to red) instead of the six or more found in traditional interchange designs.

This is the draft design layout for the new DDI interchange at I-35 and Homestead Lane and is the first of its kind in Kansas. The diverging diamond provides the best access scenario for left turns on and off the interstate. This type of interchange is currently being analyzed and applied to projects throughout the country. The first application for a Diverging Diamond Interchange in the United States was by the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) at the I-44/Route 13 Interchange Reconstruction Project located in Springfield, Missouri. To see that project website, including a video, go to: www.modot.mo.gov/springfield/major_projects/Greene/I-44andRoute13.html