Town of Janesville delays decision to cut off highway shortcut
TOWN OF JANESVILLE — Town of Janesville supervisors agreed Thursday that another 10 days of consideration might help them make the best decision to balance safety and convenience on North Hackbarth Road, a local shortcut that has already been the topic of several meetings.
The 350-yard stretch of Hackbarth is a popular route between County E on the south and Highway 14 on the north.
It is primarily used by motorists turning south off Highway 14 near the Redwood Motel to connect with County E and Janesville’s west side or those traveling north on County E who want to head east toward the city.
Safety has long been an issue on the stretch, primarily as northbound motorists leave County E to use the Hackbarth Road shortcut.
A recent town traffic count on County E showed that of the 2,700 vehicles that travel north on County E each day, about 2,000 of them turn onto Hackbarth Road. The other 700 continue north to the intersection with Highway 14.
The County E speed limit at the Hackbarth Road intersection is 55 mph. On Hackbarth, it’s 35 mph, a limit few drivers meet after making the banked turn onto Hackbarth, Brandt said.
Neighbors along the stretch have said it’s a raceway and that crossing the road to get their mail is dangerous. So, too, is driving into or out of their driveways, they said.
They reiterated those views at a public hearing Thursday, asking that the board pass a resolution to close Hackbarth at County E.
From the north and Highway 14, Hackbarth would end in a T-shaped turnaround to accommodate school buses and snow plows.
Others at the hearing said the road should not be closed, a move that would cost township residents thousands of dollars and inconvenience thousands of drivers daily.
The town had considered another option, one that would have created a 90-degree right-hand turn off County E to the north of the current intersection. While that would have forced County E traffic to slow down considerably before making the turn, it also would have cost about $25,000 to acquire land and easements and build a new segment of road.
One option that hadn’t been considered until Thursday was reconfiguring the intersection at its current location. Supervisors said they want to take another look to see if such a reconfiguration could be done that would significantly slow traffic turning on to Hackbarth.
That’s what they will do between now and March 4, when the issue will be back on the board’s agenda.
Feb 23, 2013 at 4:48 p.m.
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partarican1 - there were never any speed limit signs on it prior to last year, this is the north end between E and 14. Any country road that is not posted is technically 55mph. I know for a fact the signs just went up last year, right after the people that live there had the signs in their yard to slow down.
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Also if you are turning off of E onto it the speed limit sign is in a spot where if you dont really look for it you wont see it, you just finish your turn and you've passed it. And if you are executing your turn at 45-55mph and within 20 feet it is 35mph, there is no time to slow down to the 35mph. usually making the turn at 45-55 is safe and then you just coast to the stop sign. Why you would slow down and drive 35mph is beyond stupid.
Feb 23, 2013 at 12:21 p.m.
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Must be someone with money doing the majority of the whining. Go to the whitepages wbsite and look for all the owners in that area. I bet one name will pop out.
Feb 23, 2013 at 9:19 a.m.
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According to Rick Richards there have never been any accidents there.
Feb 23, 2013 at 9:01 a.m.
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So should we reduce or close any county roads such county Rd G formally Prairie Ave. because it is a race track. That road sees upwards of 10,000 cars and trucks a day and yes at times I have to wait 2 or more minutes to get onto G going South. People living on that road also has to cross to get at their mail box. So I don't feel any simpathy for those living on this short cut to get to hwy 14.
Feb 23, 2013 at 8:54 a.m.
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the speed limit on Hackbarth has been 35 since I moved to Rock County in the early 1990's...have there been any reported accidents at this intersection or on this short strip of road? that would be a good reason for change, otherwise, maybe the mailboxes should get moved instead....a lot cheaper solution to this small issue...
Feb 22, 2013 at 10:31 p.m.
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Why did they move there to begin with? Did they really think it was a small side street in town? I think THEY should be the ones footing the bill.
Feb 22, 2013 at 9:27 p.m.
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Why is there no explanation why the speed limit was reduced and what is wrong with coming off of E at 45mph and continuing at 45mph like its been done for decades? When was the last accident there because of speed? .... I dont think its a safety issue at all.
Feb 22, 2013 at 9:22 p.m.
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I drive it twice a day. They just changed it to 35 recently, last year I believe. There were also signs posted up at the houses that say "slow down children at play". Never have I seen a kid in the area. Maybe these people should move back into the city if they dont like the country roads? There are 3 houses on that road, it is a main road, reducing the speed to 35 to make them happy was stupid. No one obeys it because it is dumb.
Feb 22, 2013 at 7:54 p.m.
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Closing a road to thru traffic because an individual is troubled when getting his mail did seem foolhardy. With a little planning, they can make the corner less of a racetrack turn.
Feb 22, 2013 at 7:51 p.m.
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It was mentioned before, why not move all of the mail boxes to the other side of the road? Going 35 through there is ridiculous, I drive this stretch of road often and NEVER see anyone outside. As for getting out onto the road, do what they do on all of the other rural roads in the area, use your right foot!
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