MDOT May Give Wal-Mart Traffic Light Issue Another Look

IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP, MI - Friday, April 18, 2008 - At the last regular meeting of the Ironwood Township Board it was mentioned that the Township had received a copy of a letter sent to Marvin Marks by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). The MDOT letter was in reply to correspondence regarding the intersection of US Hwy 2 and Country Club Road. In that letter Mr. Marks had expressed his concerns about the lack of a traffic light at the Wal-Mart intersection.

In his reply Randy-Van Portfliet, Superior Region Engineer stated that On June 1, 2007, Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) personnel held a meeting with representatives of the Gogebic County Board of Commissioners, Gogebic County Road Commission, Ironwood Township, and the City of Ironwood. General procedures regarding signal studies and signal installation were discussed.

Mr. Van Portfliet, went on to say, "When we sought feedback from the group regarding the optimal time to perform the signal study, the consensus of the group was that the signal study should be performed when Wal-Mart was open, school was in session, and the Country Club was open. It was stated that this would be the time when the greatest traffic volumes would occur and create the best opportunity for the intersection to meet signal warrants. This led to MDOT agreeing to schedule the signal study in mid-May."

"On June 7, 2007, a public meeting was held at Gogebic Community College. Again, signal studies and signal installation procedures were discussed. The mid-May time frame for a signal study was discussed and no one brought up any objections to this schedule." Van Portfliet explained.

According to the state engineer, "MDOT will perform a review of the intersection to determine if the timing of the signal study should be advanced. If needed, MDOT will schedule the formal signal study and inform the local entities of our decision."

There has already had two accidents at the intersections. According city sources, at that June meeting, Wal-Mart agreed to pay for a substantial share of the cost to install a traffic signal.
The Wisconsin Deparment of Transporation (WDOT) has installed traffic signals at both the Ashland and Rhinelander Wal-Mart locations. MDOT has not yet installed a traffic light at either Houghton or Ironwood locations.

Lou Bonagura

IronwoodInfo.com