Council rejects bid to replace damaged traffic lights at busy downtown Mitchell intersection

Sam Fosness, The Daily Republic, Mitchell, S.D.
Updated ·3 min read

Apr. 15—MITCHELL — A pair of traffic light poles at a busy downtown intersection that have been damaged from vehicle collisions are staying put.

The city was seeking to replace the traffic lights along the Seventh Avenue and Main Street intersection due to the sustained damage, but the Mitchell City Council denied awarding the $544,404 construction bid on Monday. The council's 4-4 split resulted in a denial of the bid.

Among the four council members who voted to reject the bid was John Doescher, who couldn't support the price tag of replacing the traffic light poles. Doescher also highlighted the Seventh Avenue and Main Street traffic lights are "working just fine" despite the damages they have sustained from semi-trucks colliding into them. Doescher, Kevin McCardle, Mike Bathke and Tim Goldammer voted to reject the bid.

Council member Marty Barington was in favor of the bid, emphasizing the costs of the project will only rise as time goes on. Joining Barington in voting in favor of the bid were Susan Tjarks, Jeff Smith and Dan Sabers.

Last year, the council opted to remove the Seventh Avenue and Main Street traffic light replacement project from the 2023 budget. Since then, the cost of the project rose by 20%, according to Public Works Director Joe Schroeder.

Discussions of replacing the traffic lights with stop signs similar to other Main Street intersections emerged.

"We got stop signs from Second Avenue through Fifth Avenue, why don't we just save a bunch of money and put one on Seventh Avenue?" McCardle said.

In response to the idea of switching to a four-way stop, Barington had concerns about vehicles yielding to pedestrians during Corn Palace events.

"We have the World's Only Corn Palace next to Seventh Avenue, which has a lot of pedestrian crossing going on. Stop signs don't yield to pedestrians as much as traffic lights. I understand this is a lot of money, but I think it serves very well to have a light there," Barington said.

Police Chief Mike Koster shared Barington's concerns of vehicles yielding to the steady flow of pedestrians that the Seventh Avenue and Main Street intersection sees throughout the year.

"When you have a game or event at the Corn Palace and you're trying to cross a mass amount of people at a stop sign, you're going to run into issues of getting people to cross and cars yielding for them. With a traffic light, at least a pedestrian has a secure amount of time that they trust a car will stop at that red light," Koster said.

The Seventh Avenue and Main Street intersection sees daily traffic counts hover over 5,000 going southbound and 3,500 northbound.

Council member Susan Tjarks said swapping out the traffic lights with stop signs would be a dangerous move.

While the traffic lights at the intersection are functioning, Schroeder explained they are in rough shape.

"As those poles get rubbed, they get weaker. We get worried it will come down," Schroeder said. "They are getting outdated. There are no radar indications at that intersection."

The bid came in nearly $100,000 over the engineer's $446,000 project estimate. While the bid came in high, it was still below the budgeted amount. The council set aside $618,000 in the budget for the project.

With the council's split vote to reject the bid, city officials anticipate there will be frequent repairs to the traffic lights in order to keep the signals running at the intersection.

The mayor can break a tie vote on certain agenda items. An expenditure item such as the traffic light project does not allow the mayor to break a tie vote.