OTTAWA — The state has awarded a grant to Ottawa to overhaul the Davis Road intersection at K-68. The grant will help widen the intersection, install turn lanes on K-68 and Davis Road, and install traffic signals at the intersection, Mayor Blake Jorgensen said. The state notified the city today, he said. City officials don’t know all the details of the grant but will meet with state officials in coming weeks, he said. However, Jorgensen said he believes that the grant could pay all of the $1.4 million costs of rebuilding the intersection. The intersection improvements are a dire need, he said. Because of the increase in jobs at the Davis Road Industrial Park, he says the intersection has become a bottleneck, especially during shift changes, he said. He said that industries along Davis Road have tried to stagger their shift changes to ease the long lines of cars waiting to turn onto K-68 but it remains the city’s most dangerous intersection. City officials and commissioners have lobbied state and federal transportation experts and elected leaders for years, he said. The grant doesn’t include work on Davis Road between the intersection and Sand Creek Road, Commissioner Gene Ramsey said. That remains a top priority and city officials will continue to press federal authorities for the funds for improvements to Davis Road, he said.:
Wednesday, April 18, 3 p.m.
