Amish concerns that making Highway 1 a Super-2 lane will increase safety risks for horses and bugg…

By Mary Zielinski (free-lance)

Amish concerns that making Highway 1 a Super-2 lane will increase safety risks for horses and buggies crossing the road will be addressed by the Iowa Department of Transportation, officials said Monday.

Lawrence Byrant and Wendy Leonard, field service consultants with the IDOT, told members of the Kalona Chamber of Commerce that “we have contact with the Amish community,” and a meeting is set for this month.

When the project, which would not reach construction stage for at least six years, was announced this summer, area Amish raised concerns about buggies coping with wider crossings and increased traffic. In fact, the Amish favored not just a by-pass around the Kalona area, but one that would go all the way to Riverside and join US 218.

The by-pass, Bryant and Leonard said Monday, is not a consideration and never was anything but very low priority.

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The move to a Super 2-lane which Bryant said “has never been done before in Iowa, it is a new concept,” is the result of daily highway traffic that is reaching capacity for a regular two-lane, but not sufficient for a four-lane.

Acknowledging that a Super 2 is “half-way between”, Bryant said “it is not going to solve all problems.”

However, it “will flatten hills, straighten curves and create passing lanes,” he said.

Bryant explained that the IDOT plan involves reconstruction of Highway 1 from “just south of Kalona to Mt. Vernon.”

He explained that much of the road is a commuter route with “some of it traveled more than others, but all of it is the same age.”

The plan, now being considered, is to provide for the future, as well as immediate need, he noted.

For Kalona merchants, the fear of a by-pass brought a number of them to the earlier meeting in July. Since then, officials have assured Kalona that no by-pass will be built around the town that has a heavy tourism industry.

Chamber member Steve Yotty expressed concern about possible speed on a Super 2-Lane, noting that “The Amish coming in have enough trouble now getting across the highway.”

Bryant said the speed limit would not change and the IDOT is aware of having to provide for the Amish vehicles.

He explained that the Super 2 would move traffic faster by reducing congestion. In fact, the “congestion is starting to be a problem. If we do nothing, it will get worse,” stressing that the highway change is “for greater safety.”

Member Tom Jepson said “it needs to be done. We are building for 20 years from now.”

Besides the hills and curves, the move also would widened the highway and also see improvements made at the intersection of Highways 1 and 22.

Of equal concern is the intersection of 540th St. and Highway 1 near the Twin County Dairy (Cheese Factory), an area that has been the site of numerous accidents, including eight fatalities. It also is an area where there is numerous Amish horse and buggy traffic since the east-west 540th St. is in the middle of the area’s Amish farms.

The IDOT will continue obtaining information and will hold a series of public meetings later. It also wanted to be on the grounds of the Kalona Fall Festival, “but there was no room at the booths,” said Bryant.

Instead, the department hopes to be at the Chamber office during the two-day festival, September 24-25, providing residents an opportunity to discuss the project, register concerns and obtain information.