Couplet continues to spark debate

Locals are sharpening their swords as various couplet design options go up on the drawing board -- each option protecting different interests.

The Couplet Advisory Committee at its most recent meeting discussed three options for designing the extension of Main Avenue in the Hood Avenue/Main Avenue couplet.

The least expensive alternative connects westbound Main Avenue to Highway 20 by making a sharp left turn at Pine Street.

Another option extends Main Avenue straight past Pine Street and then weaves it right to avoid houses and buildings and then right to connect to the intersection of Highway 20 and the Hood Avenue extension.

This option cuts through some Forest Service property.

District Ranger Bill Anthony said he might favor that option if the road is built with a soft left curve near the Forest Service parking lot and the car wash.

Anthony said he wants a softer curve connecting Main Avenue to Highway 20 because it will provide easier travel for big trucks. Anthony said he wants to encourage big trucks to use the Hood Avenue/Main Avenue couplet, rather than traveling through downtown on Cascade Avenue (see The Nugget, February 4, page 1).

Options for connecting Main Avenue to the Hood Avenue extension/Highway 20 intersection include creating a three-leg or four-leg intersection or a roundabout.

A roundabout would require more widening to accommodate truck traffic than would an intersection, said Howard Stein of CTS engineers, who presented drawings of the options to the committee.

A third option connects the westbound Main Avenue via a straighter path from Pine Street to Highway 20. The 25-mile-per-hour highway would cut directly through the parking lot for the Forest Service ranger station. Main Avenue would then curve slightly upward and connect to the highway near the Hood Avenue extension.

This option would require the removal of some buildings, and would have more impact on the Forest Service.

"The question is what is the value of keeping the houses compared to the value of transportation to go straight," said Eric Dolson, publisher of The Nugget and member of the committee.

A straight path would attract more trucks, which would please the members of the committee.

This option, however, stirred controversy at the December couplet meeting, when District Ranger Anthony told the committee the Forest Service would not like a highway to run between the parking lot and the ranger station.

Anthony said the Forest Service would like to consolidate its three office buildings into one small administrative building and then sell the excess land.

The Forest Service would use the money from the sale to build the new administrative office if it could obtain authority from Congress to use the money locally, Anthony said.

Anthony said he would like the new Forest Service office to be located somewhere on the existing 80 acres of Forest Service land. The location needs to be safe, visible from the highway and easily accessible.