Some landowners refuse city's right of way request

A request from the city to landowners for extra right of way for the first phases of improvements on Greenwood Rd. and Toledo St. has received multiple denials.

Although the city did not receive any objections for creation of the street improvement districts for either of the roads, John Hehnke estimates that around 75 percent of landowners on the east side of Greenwood Rd. denied the city’s request for seven extra feet of right of way.

Toledo St. and Greenwood Rd. were originally built along county section lines. At that time law mandated that on every section line the county was deeded 66 feet for public right of way for road construction in order to connect rural areas. After these areas were incorporated into the city, it took on that right of way. Since the city usually has 80 feet of right of way for roads, it asked property owners along the first phase of construction for both Greenwood and Toledo to gift the city seven extra feet on each side of the roads to ensure there is enough room for the street, sidewalks and utilities.

On the west side of Greenwood Rd. two of the three landowners have indicated they would contribute the right of way. On the east side of the Greenwood Rd. two have indicated they would be willing to part with the extra seven feet while all others on that side of the road said they would not.

The extra right of way for majority of the first phase of Toledo St., from the intersection of Greenwood Rd to Fort Sidney Rd., is accommodated through The Ranch subdivision as part of its final plat. Other developments in the east Sidney area including the new hospital and Source Gas’s new location have already deeded the city the extra right of way.

City manager Gary Person acknowledged that the east side of Greenwood Rd. posed a challenge because it was an old county road and seven additional feet might cause some landowners significant issues.

“If we got the additional right of way on the west side of Greenwood, we could accommodate everything fairly well, it’s just that the sidewalk on the east side would be much closer to the road than what preferably we would have,” Person said.

Don Dye, with M.C. Shaff & Associates in Scottsbluff, presented the council with bids for the first phases of the Greenwood Rd. and Toledo St. projects at Tuesday’s council meeting. It received two bids last Thursday, one from Nienhueser Construction in the amount of $3,575,616 and one from Paul Reed Construction for $3,587,532.

The council went with Shaff’s recommendation to approve Nienhueser Construction’s bid.

The company plans to begin work between April 7-14 and is required to be finished in 225 calendar days. If the project begins April 7, it should be completed by Nov. 17. Delays due to weather were built into the schedule.

Mayor Wendall Gaston wondered which road would be finished first.

“I think the way we approach phasing is to complete Greenwood Rd. first and come back and do Toledo,” Dye said. “We’ll leave the intersection open to provide access both to the hospital construction and also Cabela’s development construction.”