The main route for traffic between Lawrence and Baldwin will get a new bridge in 2006, but planning could begin soon for an even bigger overhaul along Douglas County Road 1055.

Douglas County commissioners say they want to start laying the groundwork for a realignment of curves south of the 1055 bridge, which is 3/4 mile south of County Road 458.

The Lawrence-Baldwin corridor is becoming increasingly attractive to development, Commissioner Bob Johnson said, as rural-water service expands and people snap up property for new homes.

“Eventually this road needs to be improved,” Johnson said. “If you just open your eyes and look a little bit into the future and you can see the need, then you owe it to yourself to deal with that need today.”

Commissioners asked Keith Browning, county engineer and director of public works, to pursue an informal study of what changes might be appropriate along 1055 south of the bridge. Of particular concern to commissioners are curves that force drivers to slow down as they approach, adding to safety concerns.

The first curve, at the base of Cedar Hill Gun Club hill, will be realigned as part of the bridge project, an $832,150 construction job slated for 2006. Commissioners agreed to hire Topeka-based Finney & Turnipseed, for $42,300, to draw up detailed engineering plans for the project.

A second curve also could be reconfigured as part of the project, Browning said, for a total project cost of $1.04 million. Rebuilding the second curve separately would cost nearly $500,000.

The county could apply for a federal grant to defray up to 90 percent of construction costs.

“It would be a pretty good deal,” he told commissioners.

But making further adjustments to 1055 could trigger other concerns. The county might need to acquire small patches of land from adjacent property owners to make room for a realigned road, Browning said.

Johnson and fellow commissioners said the planning process would have open lines of communication. People with land in a possible path of construction would know what might be coming well before the bulldozers arrived.

“You essentially put people on notice,” he said. “If you really want to buy property down here and build a house that’s fine. Go do it. But you have to understand that this road has to be improved.”

Commissioners agreed to meet with Browning in the coming weeks to discuss procedures for looking into the road’s future. No deadline for the study was set.

In other action Monday, commissioners:

• Agreed to hire First Management Inc., for $55,047, to build a new storage building at the county’s public works yard, 711 E. 23rd St. The contract originally went to Penny Construction Co. Inc. for $51,474, but Penny soon raised its offer price to $57,540 to account for rising steel prices.
• Approved spending $6,030 to help finance the hiring of Kansas University’s Policy Research Institute to study the effects of future biosciences development in the county. The $24,000 study — jointly financed by the county, KU, city of Lawrence and Lawrence Chamber of Commerce — is expected to be completed within three months.