Chief says road construction will increase traffic significantly

By John Earp

According to the Jal Police Department, a man was found deceased last Saturday in town. Chief Mauricio Valeriano said there were no signs of foul play involved in the death, and the death was thought to be due to a medical issue. Valeriano said his department is presently fully staffed, but that he anticipates in the coming months the department will need an additional officer due to the road construction that is expected to markedly increase traffic through town in the coming year. The plan that has been discussed by city officials is to close down two of the three lanes of Kansas Avenue through town, with the other half of the traffic flow being detoured through town, especially down Third and Merryman Streets. With the amount of traffic that is generally backed up on Kansas Avenue during the mornings and late afternoons, traffic through town will likely be quite heavy down Third St by the middle of town, by the junior high and high school. Students typically jaywalk en masse wherever they feel like crossing Third St during their lunch break now, which is bad enough, but when half the traffic on Kansas Ave is redirected down Third St in the coming year, it will certainly be an even more hazardous situation for these young, careless, jaywalking students. Valeriano says his hope is that traffic can be diverted away from Utah, which is a school zone.