Highways B, 50 work to begin Monday

The intersection of Highways 50 and B is slated for an overhaul and installation of a traffic signal starting Monday and lasting until October.

If you regularly drive down Highway 50 as far  as Highway B, whether you are impacted by an upcoming four months of construction there might depend on your route.

Jerry Epping, president of Breezy Hill Nursery , Inc., is more certain of how the work to install a traffic signal will effect his business.

“We’re definitely going to be impacted,” said Epping, whose business is located at the southwest corner of the intersection.

Work on the intersection is expected to begin Monday. Included will be improved left turn lanes on both highways, traffic signals and intersection lighting . Total cost of the project is $1.7 million.

The highways adjoining Breezy Hill Nursery may be closed at times for upcoming construction, but the business will be keeping its open sign lit.

On Highway 50, one lane of traffic in each direction will be kept open at all times. Here is the current schedule of closures:

• July to September: Median and left lanes on Highway 50 will be closed.
• September to November: Right lanes on Highway 50 will be closed. County Highway B will be closed to all traffic south of Highway 50. Highway B will be open to local traffic only. Access to Highway B north of Highway 50 will be from Highway K.

The timing of the work could have been worse, Epping said.

“I talked to them and told them we couldn’t be shut down early in the season and I believe they worked hard” to accommodate the nursery by starting in July, Epping said. A nursery’s busiest time of the year is spring, when people are planting and taking on outdoor projects with gusto.

“Our only down time is winter,” Epping said.

To help the nursery reach out to customers while the work is going on, the state Department of Transportation has agreed to allow Breezy Hill to hang signs saying they’re open on the state’s road closed signs.

“Especially with the economy the way it is, it would have been good not to be impacted, but such is life,’ Epping said.

The stated purpose for the improvements, especially the signal, is to improve safety. Despite the inconvenience to his customers, Epping agrees with that reason.

“It’s a dangerous intersection, so for public safety, it needs to be done,” Epping said.

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