Nucor officials and Grade X Inc., the contractor installing water lines along Nucor Road, are concerned for the safety of construction workers .
On Monday, Montgomery County Commissioners heard from both parties regarding the situation and devised a plan that would reduce traffic to one lane for about 1.4 miles near the Nucor main entrance and add more safety measures for the next seven weeks.
Both Grade X and Nucor officials acknowledge this change will result in a bottleneck for traffic going in and out of the plant.
Nucor representative Scott Minnick said they are seeing drivers lose patience and getting aggravated so they just blow through the area.
“We have hundreds of trucks on the road every day at all hours of the day and night,” Minnick said. “We have had some real close calls.”
“This (closure) will help slow down traffic along with keeping our workers safe and going home at the end of the day,” said Dustin Baldwin, Grade X project manager.
The company plans to continue using flaggers and barrels for lane closures, and will add automated traffic signals. The plan also includes using driveway cameras that can assist in traffic control.
Montgomery County Highway Director Jake Lough said the plan will take human error out of the problem.
Commissioners approved the seven-week one lane closure and asked all parties to communicate if the proposed solution does not help.
Commissioners want the traveling public to be aware of the lane closure and are asking drivers to drive safely if using Nucor Road.
County administrator Tom Klein reported the courthouse renovation is moving along and at this time parts of the roof are being replaced. He also said the basement is now closed to the public and first floor restrooms will be made available to the public until the basement is open again.
