HUTCHINSON, Kan - The Hutchinson City Council officially took the surface street option off the table for the Woodie Seat Freeway at their Tuesday meeting, but they do want to find out if there's a way to have a smaller bridge on Avenue B so that neighborhood isn't cut off. Assistant City Engineer Jessica Lowe told the council she doesn't think that should cost a lot.

"I can't tell you an exact number," Lowe said Tuesday. "I can tell you it will be substantially less than what the option 5 study would have cost. We already have survey there, so we can have someone start looking at grades, elevations, to see what, if anything, can fit. If you're talking about putting the roundabout at Avenue A, what can we put in at Avenue B. We have a lot of the data we need, we just don't have the people in house that can do that study."

The goal is, if it isn't cost prohibitive, to do something at Avenue B to allow for pedestrian traffic and, if possible, vehicle traffic. The council also directed staff to start doing the street work that isn't on the Woodie Seat itself so that there is road ready for whatever of the other options they ultimately choose.

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 </figure>NICK GOSNELL Hutch PostHUTCHINSON, Kan - The Hutchinson City Council officially took the surface street option off the table for the Woodie Seat Freeway at their Tuesday meeting, but they do want to find out if there's a way to have a smaller bridge on Avenue B so that neighborhood isn't cut off. Assistant City Engineer Jessica Lowe told the council she doesn't think that should cost a lot."I can't tell you an exact number," Lowe said Tuesday. "I can tell you it will be substantially less than what the option 5 study would have cost. We already have survey there, so we can have someone start looking at grades, elevations, to see what, if anything, can fit. If you're talking about putting the roundabout at Avenue A, what can we put in at Avenue B. We have a lot of the data we need, we just don't have the people in house that can do that study."The goal is, if it isn't cost prohibitive, to do something at Avenue B to allow for pedestrian traffic and, if possible, vehicle traffic. The council also directed staff to start doing the street work that isn't on the Woodie Seat itself so that there is road ready for whatever of the other options they ultimately choose.

Council wants to find out if keeping Avenue B open at Woodie Seat is possible