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“In my estimation, we took the bull by the horns,” Johnson said. “We are not going to sit around and wait on MDOT and the federal government to straighten out our traffic problem. We passed a $50 million bond issue on Gluckstadt Road, Reunion Parkway and several other projects in Madison. We have moved forward on these projects.”
Central District Commissioner Dick Hall prevented the project from receiving approval from the Federal Highway Administration when he voted January 8 against the “Finding of No Significant Impact,” or FONSI, in the environmental study.
“The environmental documents cleared and we had our public hearing,” Johnson said. “Is there any detriment to the environment? The answer is no. The FONSI is a formality and Commissioner Hall is using that to hold up the project.”
FEDERAL LAW REQUIRES unanimous approval of such environmental studies. The other two commissioners, Bill Minor and Wayne Brown, did not oppose the FONSI. But Hall said Madison County is making a mistake by focusing on the Reunion Parkway Interchange.
“It’s been our plan all along to replace the interchange at Gluckstadt,” he said. “That should be our number one priority. If they bring some other plan for Gluckstadt, I will withdraw my opposition to Reunion.”
Hall voted “here” on the issue in October, essentially the same as casting a “no” vote.
Madison County has built five lanes on the east side of the I-55 interchange at Gluckstadt and plans to add three lanes on the west side. The state’s work on the overpass has been set for 2014.
Gluckstadt, the Reunion Parkway Interchange and other road projects are partially financed by Madison County through a $50 million bond issue. Johnson said only $300,000 is available for Gluckstadt. About $38 million, with $6 million provided by MDOT, has been set aside for the Reunion Parkway Interchange.
However, Johnson said, Reunion can be built within two years, while work on Gluckstadt could take six years. Furthermore, the east-west corridor from Mississippi 463 to U.S. 51 would immediately relieve traffic congestion, and commercial development on that route would be plentiful, Johnson said.
“WE NEED AS MANY east-west corridors in Madison as we can get,” he said. “We have a terrible traffic flow problem in Madison, and we need to build infrastructure to improve traffic. We need to move forward with Reunion.”
But that won’t happen if Gluckstadt isn’t addressed first, Hall said.
“They say the reason for doing this is to relieve traffic congestion. The traffic congestion problem is at Gluckstadt. If you are going to spend local taxpayers’ money - and I represent those people, too - then why don’t you go do what needs to be done first?”
Hall also said Madison County should bear much of the financing cost for Gluckstadt.
“If they’ve got $50 million in bonds, why don’t they go fix that first?” Hall said. “I don’t have any problem with Reunion. Sooner or later, that will be a good thing to do.”
Johnson said that is not a decision for Hall to make.
“With all due respect, that’s not his call. That’s just a bunch of double-talk I’ve had people ask me what the heck Dick Hall is thinking.”
About 75,000 people live in Madison County.
Madison County supervisors don’t expect to change their positions on the two interchanges, Johnson said.
“What I want to do at our next meeting is send another letter to MDOT asking Hall to vote favorably on Reunion,” he said. “If he doesn’t do right, we’re just going to keep sending letters until one day, hopefully, he comes to his senses. He has decided he is going to vote against the citizens of Madison.”
Phase 1 of the Reunion Parkway Interchange created an east-west corridor from Mississippi 463 to Bozeman Road, and that section of road from Mississippi 463 to Madison Station School is expected to open Monday.
Phase 2 would take the interchange from Bozeman to at least Parkway East, with Madison officials hoping to extend the road to U.S. 51 in Madison.
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