HOWARD — The best laid plans — or signs — of mice and men can be quickly blown away by Mother Nature. That is partially the case with the road signs and school signs that have not been installed with respect to the new East Knox Middle School and turn lane on U.S. 36.
Kate Sickle, public information officer with the Ohio Department of Transportation, said the final steps of the turn lane project is posting signs and marking a designated crosswalk. During a walk-through on Sept. 10, she said, ODOT crews went out and developed a (new) list of signs that needed to be completed, and sent it to the contractor, Law General Contracting. “As far as we know,” Stickle said, “the contractor has begun to put these signs up.”
Then the storm hit. A flashing school zone sign, ordered by the district with ODOT’s assistance, was ordered from a company in Texas before Hurricane Ike hit. “So,” Stickle said, “we have contacted Law General Contracting and they are (will be) putting up the old sign until the new sign comes in.”
Ike, and its aftermath, was the other factor with the crosswalk not yet being in place, Stickle said. ODOT crews have been out working not just for student safety, but for the safety of the general public, clearing trees and debris from roadways.
Stickle said ODOT is “pushing through the paperwork” on the crosswalk and everything is on schedule. ODOT will determine where the crosswalk needs to be, do paperwork on it and will paint the crosswalk lines and post signs.
The crosswalk will probably be located just west of Schenck Creek Road, said East Knox superintendent John Marschhausen. The district will be providing access from there to the middle school, he added. “We need to remove sections of the split rail fence and add a path. That will be done once ODOT selects the exact location of the crosswalk.”
As a temporary measure to ensure the safety of the seven or so students who have to cross U.S. 36 while walking to school, the district has offered to have school buses transport those walkers. Marschhausen said no one has accepted that offer.
