Construction has temporarily turned a route into downtown Greenwood into a one-way street, but that hasn’t stopped drivers from trying to squeeze through.
Drivers have been warned and ticketed for driving south on a section of Madison Avenue between Pearl and Noble streets that only has the northbound lane open for traffic due to construction, and additional officers are monitoring the area, Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers said.
One business owner on Madison Avenue said she watched last week as a driver attempting to go south in the northbound lane would drive from barricade to barricade, waiting each time until there was a break in traffic to continue south. A lot of confused drivers approached the barricades set up at the Noble Street intersection appearing uncertain about what to do, said Jackie Poe, the owner of The Flower Market.
“People weren’t sure about where they needed to go,” she said.
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But with multiple signs along Madison Avenue approaching the construction zone, drivers don’t have any excuse for not being aware that the area is blocked off, Greenwood Police detective Doug Roller said.
“It is very clearly marked and barricaded,” he said. “They have to deliberately weave through and drive past barricades.”
While officers have written some tickets, in many cases they’ve given drivers a warning and advice on ways to get around the construction zones and to their destinations, Roller said.
“Usually in situations like this, where it is something people are unaccustomed to, we try to educate the public about it,” he said.
Work on a $12.5 million project to rebuild Madison Avenue, from County Line Road to Smith Valley Road, in Greenwood began in April with the first phase of construction, a $2 million project set to continue through September. Besides tearing out and rebuilding the road, the center turn lane will be eliminated, allowing the road to be narrowed, providing room for a bicycle and pedestrian trail separated from the road by a grass buffer, along with decorative lighting and crosswalks.
City officials say the project is necessary to improve traffic flow and make the area more pedestrian friendly, and that the millions of dollars in improvements to downtown Greenwood along Madison Avenue and elsewhere will spur economic development in coming years.
Since that section of Madison Avenue was closed to one lane last week, the city has added additional signs alerting drivers to the appropriate detours and reminding them that they can’t continue south on Madison Avenue past Noble Street, Greenwood capital projects manager Kevin Steinmetz said.
At the final barrier at the Noble Street intersection, there is room for drivers headed south to turn around and go north, he said.
However, some drivers have chosen to use a break in northbound traffic to drive south on Madison Avenue to some of the side streets, he said.
“People will be pretty bold unfortunately,” he said.
As the road has been limited to northbound traffic, business owners also want to make sure that drivers still know they are open and customers can get there. Signs on Madison Avenue indicate that Euclid Avenue is closed, but that message is intended to prevent through traffic, not to deter customers from accessing businesses there, Steinmetz said.
Scott Eanes, the owner of Take Root Country Store at 202 N. Madison Ave., said he has felt the impact of traffic being cut down to one lane, with his business down 40 percent the first week. Eanes’ concern is that drivers are seeing the sign at Euclid Avenue and not realizing that they can still access his store.
Drivers can use Euclid Avenue to access businesses on the west side of Madison Avenue, but city officials want to avoid that area being used as a shortcut for drivers between Madison Avenue and U.S. 31.
City officials are considering replacing signs to show that the road is only banned to through traffic, as well as letting business owners put up additional signs to alert drivers that they remain open, Steinmetz said.
“We are trying as hard as we can to look with local business leaders and businesses to get traffic to be able to come into the downtown area,” Myers said. “We will continue to work to try to make things easier and more accessible with more signage.”
By the end of the week, the city plans to put up additional signs around the construction area that businesses are still open and accessible, Myers said.
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As work continues on a $12.5 million rebuild of Madison Avenue from Smith Valley Road to County Line Road, here’s a look at some details on the first section of the project:
Cost: $2 million
Timeline: April through September
Project details: A reconstruction of Madison Avenue from Pearl Street to Noble Street. The project will involve removing the center turn lane and adding a 12-foot-wide trail with a grass buffer and two marked pedestrian crossings, one of which will have a signal for traffic.
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