Randolph requests road upgrade

HARTINGTON – The city of Randolph is requesting Cedar County to improve a roughly one-mile section of rural road near the community.

Randolph City Administrator/ Clerk Ben Benton met with the county board of commissioners on July 25 to ask the county to allocate funding for improvements to upgrade 560th Avenue between 865th and 866th roads.

This stretch of 560th Avenue currently is a minimum maintenance road located about one mile east of Randolph, and the city is requesting to have it turned into a gravel road.

“Recently, there was a lot of discussion about Bridge Street in Randolph and making it safer for the kids, parents, teachers, employees (of Randolph Public Schools),” Benton said.

What he was referring to is the city and the school district working together to figure out the best way to deal with traffic congestion at Randolph Elementary once classes start for the 2023-24 academic year.

The school district plans to help improve pedestrian safety and traffic flow on North Bridge Street during afternoon pickup times after classes have been completed for the day.

Randolph school officials have chosen to permit parents to start picking up their children at 3:50 p.m. before the school buses arrive at 4 p.m.

The hope is that the 10-minute window will allow for the majority of the kids to be picked up and reduce the traffic congestion in the pickup area.

Benton told the commissioners that Bridge Street is a farm-to-market route.

“It never has been a problem, but as conveyed at the two (Randolph City Council) public hearings we had, the overall consensus was, it’s not a problem until it is,” he said.

Benton explained Randolph city and school officials, as well as St. Jane Frances de Chantal Catholic Church representatives, came together to make changes to help improve safety along Bridge Street.

In addition to the school district’s plan for pickup times, council members approved prohibiting parking in both the 200 and 300 blocks of North Bridge Street, between East Mosher and East Hughson streets.

The Catholic church plans to convert the perpendicular parking on the east side of North Bridge Street in front of its building to angled parking for northbound traffic.

Benton said improving 560th Avenue between 865th and 866th roads would allow for an alternative route for farm-to-market, agricultural, commercial and other traffic, reducing dust on South Bridge Street and traffic congestion on North Bridge Street through Randolph.

“When school’s in session August through May, they (farmers) know that their ability to get through town is restricted to certain windows before or after,” Benton said. “This could eliminate that restriction and they could operate freely.” In a letter he submitted to the commissioners, Benton explained this alternative route for traffic would in turn improve: - Safety for students, parents, teachers and employees of the school district in the 300 block of North Bridge Street.

- Safety for pedestrians and local traffic for the Catholic church.

- Quality of life for residents in the 100 block of North Bridge Street with reduced traffic in the residential neighborhood.

- Quality of life for rural residents on South Bridge Street, with less dust from agricultural and commercial traffic on gravel roads between the Bridge Street bridge and Sholes Road.

Benton also turned in a letter of support for the road improvement project request from Daryl Schrunk, the new superintendent of the Randolph school district.

“We believe improving this section of 560th Avenue would improve safety for students, parents, teachers and employees for Randolph Public Schools in the 300 block of North Bridge Street,” Schrunk wrote. “We also believe this would greatly improve safety for pedestrians and residents in this area by reducing traffic in the residential neighborhood. This alternate route would improve traffic flow for ag and commercial businesses by allowing them to get their products from farm to market without navigating through congested traffic.”

Mark Korth of Randolph had the idea about improving 560th Avenue between 865th and 866th roads.

“I learned a long time ago the answer’s always ‘No’ if you don’t ask, and it might still be a ‘No’ today, but it’s an idea worth asking (about),” Benton told the commissioners.

Benton, who holds many titles as a Randolph city employee in addition to administrator/clerk, noted he knows this potential road improvement project likely will not happen for at least a year or more.

“I see Randolph growing,” Benton said, noting as the city exits the Middle Logan Creek floodcontrol project, “our floodplain designation changes. People will start building houses. Businesses will move in.”

Benton told the commissioners he wants to see Randolph, which is home to about 880 people, hit 1,000 residents during the next five to 10 years and then 2,000 after that.

“This could prove to be a really good investment for the county and the community,” Benton said of the potential road improvement project.

Commissioner Craig Bartels said he has traveled before on the section of 560th Avenue that the city of Randolph would like to see improved.

“It’s not an impossible request,” Bartels said. He told Benton the commissioners will give Randolph’s road improvement request “very strong consideration.”