“It’s well needed,” Surrey Township Chairman Mark Vollmer said. “Our area has been looking for this for 30 years.”

The 10-mile segment of CR 23 runs north from U.S. Highway 52 at Sawyer to U.S. Highway 2, east of Surrey. It crosses through Sawyer, New Prairie and Surrey Townships.

CR 23 south of U.S. 52, from Benedict to Sawyer, already is paved, as is the road north of U.S. 2 to Deering. The proposed project would pave the stretch in-between, said Ward County Highway Engineer Dana Larsen.

Larsen said state Prairie Dog Fund money is expected to pay for half of the $10 million cost, with the local share coming from county sales tax dollars.

Jill Schramm/MDN Flanked by informational project boards, landowners visit with KLJ’s engineering staff about the proposed paving of Ward County Road 23 at public meeting held in Sawyer Thursday, Feb. 26.

Construction is set for 2027. Engineers said project phasing still is being worked on, but local traffic always will have some type of access. Most traffic is expected to find alternative routes.

The project effort this year will focus on completing design and obtaining right of way. Among challenges to be addressed in the design are wetlands, a railroad crossing and large power lines, Larsen said.

Hearing from the public goes a long way in developing the final project and in ensuring the community is satisfied with the result, said project manager Jon Bach with KLJ. Local residents know where the traditionally wet areas are in getting in and out of their fields, he said. They know where trees will be impacted by right-of-way decisions and where traffic speed needs to be considered because of children playing nearby, he added.

“That’s good information for us to know,” Bach said.

Larsen said another public meeting or other means of touching base with landowners will happen before a final design is approved and bid.

Landowners and residents at Thursday’s meeting were curious about what the new roadway will look like and how much right of way will be needed. There also was interest in an area of proposed new curves and a new intersection that will replace an existing intersection and curves to improve traffic flow and address safety.

“A couple concerns for me was how much right of way that they are going to need. How much farmland is going to get taken,” landowner Neil Klein said. He said he was pleased to learn project engineers are taking into account the need for approaches into fields and have planned for a number of those.

“I don’t even have to ask to have that done. That’s a big plus,” Klein said.

Vollmer said the project will be great for Surrey Township because of the potential for much of the traffic in the area to naturally divert from the township’s gravel roads to the new paved section. The shift of traffic should ease the burden of maintenance costs on the gravel roads for the townships, he said.

“We are hoping that we have less traffic issues on some of our roads,” Vollmer said. “I am sure the other townships say the same thing. It’s going to be a great benefit.”

Residents also are looking for relief from dust from grain trucks on CR 23 that they say is horrible at times. The increasing numbers of grain trucks on that gravel road to reach local grain terminals has been a concern, prompting more than 130 landowners to petition the county last summer to pave CR 23. They noted the need to drive extremely slow and pull into approaches when encountering semis to mitigate dust blizzards and stay safe. The death of a motorcyclist on the loose gravel last year also has been a concern.

The community support was a big reason the Ward County Commission moved up CR 23 in its transportation planning, Larsen said. The commission placed CR 23 in the county’s 2018 Transportation Plan but it wasn’t a top priority. Given the local support, commissioners bumped it ahead of another project that is experiencing delays in obtaining right of way.

“This is the first time I have had a petition come with 100 percent support,” Larsen said. “When you have this type of community support for a project, it’s kind of enjoyable to work on.”