A paperwork glitch is delaying a phase of the Blair bypass that was due to start on Monday by another week, but neighbors and business owners say the project cannot start soon enough. “I can still feel the walls shaking. The plates will shake a little bit when two trucks pass by,” said Blair Bakery employee John Mann, employee of Blair Bakery. Inside Blair Bakery, it’s a bit quiet, but outside there are the sights and sounds of semi-trucks. “In the year Last, we had a truck that blew a tire and shook much of the neighborhood. “It was very loud,” Mann said. Mann said Blair’s new bypass is welcome because the semi-dumb traffic is a nuisance. The BUILD grant for the project was approved in 2020 after decades of study. Traffic, noise and vibration are affecting businesses along Washington Street in downtown Blair, said Blair Chamber of Commerce President Money Banner. Construction on the bypass begins at the end of that and makes the downtown area safer. “Parking and crossing streets with all this traffic is definitely dangerous,” Banner said. “As a matter of fact, three years ago, we had a child who lost his life on that street by a truck. So we hope that these things can be prevented by a bypass.” Banner said 3,000 to 3,600 tractor trailers pass through it. Downtown Blair every day. The bypass should reduce traffic, and “downtown will be much nicer,” Banner said. “I’ve been to towns where the city center has really been beautified, there’s a place to go and that’s really what would be so great for companies in Blair.” Residents in Blair hope the detour will take place, giving them a more fun and safe experience in the city centre. “I know the kind of parking is kept away from truck traffic and things like that. You have to be quick and watch the backs of the trucks behind you,” Mann said.
A paperwork glitch is delaying a stage of Blair’s bypass that was due to start on Monday by another week.
But neighbors and business owners say the project cannot start soon.
“I still feel the walls shaking. The plates will shake a little bit with a couple of trucks going by,” said John Mann, an employee of Blair Bakery.
Inside Blair Bakery is a bit quiet, but outside there are the sights and sounds of semi trucks.
Last year our truck tire blew out and shook much of the neighborhood. Mann said.
He said the new Blair bypass is welcome because halfway traffic is a nuisance.
“The big trucks on Main Street go at 30-40 miles an hour plus it’s very narrow,” Mann said.
A BUILD grant of $7.56 million for the project was approved in 2020 after decades of consideration.
Traffic, noise and vibration are affecting businesses along Washington Street in downtown Blair, said Manny Banner, president of the Blair Chamber of Commerce. Construction on the bypass begins at the end of that and makes the downtown area safer.
“Parking and crossing the streets with all this traffic is definitely dangerous,” Banner said. “As a matter of fact, three years ago, we had a child who lost his life on that street by a truck. So we hope that these things can be prevented by a bypass.”
Banner said between 3,000 and 3,600 trailers pass through downtown Blair each day. Overtaking should reduce that movement.
“Downtown would be much nicer,” Banner said. “I’ve been to towns where the city center has really been beautified, there’s a place to go and that’s really what would be so great for companies in Blair.”
Blair residents are hoping for a detour, which will give them a more pleasant and safer experience in the city centre.
“I know parking kind of gets deterred by truck traffic and things like that. You have to be quick and watch the backs of the trucks behind you,” Mann said.