Traffic on South 56th Street at Elkcrest Drive — the first stoplight north of Edgewood Shopping Center — has narrowed to one lane each way this summer.
KENDRA WALTKE / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Monday, June 2, 2008 7:00 pm
Traffic on South 56th Street at Elkcrest Drive — the first stoplight north of Edgewood Shopping Center — has narrowed to one lane each way this summer.
So watch for drivers trying to access their neighborhoods by turning onto side streets.
Elkcrest, which handles many cars heading into neighborhoods east and west of 56th, is blocked off, and will be through August.
The intersection was chosen for upgrade because of a high rate of accidents, likely caused by a lack of left-turn lanes there, said design project manager Erika Nunes, of the city’s engineering department.
The city will add left-turn lanes on each of the four legs of the intersection.
South 56th will be widened from south of Quail Ridge Drive to north of Vavak Place. No trees will be removed from Larsen Park, and sidewalks will be replaced, she said.
Elkcrest to the east of 56th will be widened three feet to the north and south, to allow for an 80-foot turn lane. Removing a median will widen Elkcrest to the west.
The intersection also will receive upgraded mast-arm-style traffic signals, and the roadway will be milled and resurfaced, Nunes said. South 56th through Elkcrest will close entirely for one weekend in August for that resurfacing.
Eighty percent of construction costs for the $1.1 million project will be paid for by federal funds; the city will match 20 percent.
The Nebraska Department of Roads Safety Committee, made up of Lincoln, Omaha, county and state officials , chose the project as part of its continual evaluation of intersections with high accident rates.
From 2004 to 2006, 38 crashes occurred at the intersection; 23 were rear-end crashes and six were turning crashes. For those three years, the crash rate at the intersection was 1.37 per million entering vehicles, compared to the city average of 0.66 for this type of intersection over the same period.
Reach Kendra Waltke at (402) 473-7303 or kwaltke@journalstar.com.