COLUMBUS -- The accessibility of the Third, 12th and 18th avenue viaducts for pedestrians is a concern to some community residents.
Officials say the layout and design of the Phase I viaducts, to be voted on Tuesday, were created to minimize the impact and maximize pedestrian usage.
The 18th Avenue pedestrian overpass, the designs show, is an open structure that would stretch from the northwest corner of 12th Street and 18th Avenue to south of 14th Street at 18th Avenue.
Each of the 500 foot ramps will have railing and an incline of 5 percent, meaning a 5-foot rise for every 100 feet in length. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires grades of 7.1 percent or less.
The bridge over the railroad tracks, which will be lined with fencing and open at the top, will spans 120 feet with a total length of 1,120 feet, when the winding sections are included. Upon exiting the north side landing the sidewalk will split east and west around a cul-de-sac.
With some concern about what types of transportation will be allowed to utilize the structure, City Administrator Joseph Mangiamelli said reasonable and appropriate use will be expected.
“Obviously walkers and bicyclists because it is designed to accommodate them” with 10-foot-wide sidewalks, Mangiamelli said. A residential sidewalk is four feet wide. “Skateboarders may try to use it, but if it becomes a problem we may have to regulate use. (Also,) no motorized vehicles will be allowed outside of a person with a wheel chair.”
Fencing has also been a contentious issue surrounding this issue.
“When fencing along the railroad right-of-way was made a part of the project there was a concern from a large number of elected officials and community members that fencing (at each structure) was going to be an eye sore, litter collector and be a separator of the community,” Mangiamelli said.
But through further research and efforts by consulting engineers, fencing would only be required at the pedestrian overpass.
The fence, which would stand at least 5 feet in height, would stretch approximately 500 feet east and 500 feet west from the pedestrian overpass on both the north and south sides of the railroad right-of-way.
Currently there is no physical barrier preventing people from walking across the tracks, only legal repercussions to stop people from doing so.
Mangiamelli said the fencing is required, because if the state and railroad are investing dollars to get people and vehicles across the tracks safely they want to put mechanisms in place that will encourage use of those structures.
Although no homes will be removed as a result of the 18th Avenue pedestrian overpass, the 12th Avenue structure will require 14 homes and another 14 partial pieces of property to be taken and create six isolated parcels.
The 12th Avenue viaduct will stretch from the north end of 16th Street to just south of 10th Street and include a turnoff for access to the city cemetery located south of the railroad tracks.
The total length of the structure is about 1,650 feet from where the profile of road goes up to where the profile of road comes back down with the 5 grade limited to approximately 375 feet on the south side of the tracks and approximately 400 feet on the north side.
The current 33rd Avenue viaduct slope is shy of a 5.68 percent grade on the south side of the tracks and slightly more than a 5.74 percent grade on the north side or 5.68 feet and 5.74 feet in rise, respectively, for every 100 feet in length.
According to HDR Inc., the curvature of the structure to the west would be implemented to “avoid impacts to the cemeteries, Loup Power District and utilities. The curved alignment also allows more gradual grades to be used to provide better access for pedestrians and bicyclists. A curved alignment would be easier to construct than a straight alignment because of the closeness of the cemeteries on the east and other buildings on the west. Due to these factors, a curved alignment would cost less than a straight alignment.”
The proposed 12th Avenue viaduct bend about 310 feet to the west of 12th Avenue.
The Third Avenue structure would extend about 1,620 feet in length with the 5 percent grade limited to approximately 350 feet on the south side of the tracks and approximately 450 feet on the north side. It would include an access road for Ag Park and the commercial properties south of the railroad tracks.
The Third Avenue viaduct will curve to the east up to 150 feet at the bridge of structure from Third Avenue to “avoid impacts to Ag Park and the commercial properties south of the (Union Pacific Railroad) tracks. Access to these properties could not be provided if the alignment went straight,” according to HDR.
Both viaducts will include sidewalks ” along the west side of the Third and 12th Avenue viaducts ” which will be 10 feet wide on the bridge and 5 feet wide off the bridge of the structures.
Both will be two-lane structures, one landing in each direction, with a center turn lane to be included off the bridges of both structures.
For all three structures, the piers supporting them will be located outside the railroad right-of-way. The railroad right-of-way extends approximately 100 feet.
“There will be no columns between tracks. They will be just off the right-of-way ... so if there is a derailment there is nothing to hit, hopefully,” Lindahl said.
Although not every detail has been analyzed or formalized, Mangiamelli said what has been presented at the public meetings is what the city intends to move forward with if the projects are approved.
“Have we anticipated every ‘what if’ right now? No. Will they be addressed in the design? I certainly hope so,” he said. The “alignment will not change and basic concepts will not change. (Following approval by voters) we are going to be in a mode of pursuing actual designs and want to proceed with as much haste and care as possible.”
Following voter approval, the city would continue to be open to citizen input and the designs will be presented to the public and subject to citizen review.
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