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CASE # 1 153RD CROSSTOWN ARTERIAL By: Steven Jankowski, City Engineer Background: On September 24, 1991, separate meetings of the Budget Committee and the Road and Bridge Committee were held to discuss the completion of 153rd Avenue as a crosstown arterial. At that time, Mr. Jankowski presented a proposal for completing this roadway in. accordance with the alignment proposed on the City's Thoroughfare Plan contained in its Comprehensive Development Plan. While the City has numerous State and County trunk roads and Variolite Street which service the City's traffic in the north/south direction, it has only U.S. Highway #10 which facilitates east/west traffic across the entire City. The City's recently updated transportation plan indicates that Trunk Highway #10 is operating at "D" level of service through Ramsey and no capacity improvements are planned through 2010. At the present time, 5.33 miles of 153rd Avenue are presently in place. At the September 24 meeting, citizens expressed opposition to the proposed alignment and suggested several alternatives be considered. The Committees tabled action on this case until a staff response to the citizens comments had been prepared. This case will serve as a response to the alternatives proposed and the comments made. Alternate 1: Connect as per Thoroughfare Plan. This alternative considers the alignment as proposed by the City's Comprehensive Plan and which was presented previously by the City Engineer at the September 24 Budget and Road and Bridge Committee meetings. Consideration of 153rd Avenue as an arterial has been contemplated since the early 1970's. The design of the Whispering Pines Estates Subdivision which was recorded in 1972 is such that no lot needs to front on 153rd Avenue, and a minimum number of lots are contiguous to 153rd Avenue. Selection of this route would follow through on planning efforts formulated almost twenty years ago. A significant accomplishment of this alignment is the creation of 153rd Avenue as an east/west crosstown arterial. The alignment will require the construction of 0.65 miles of roadway, the approximate alignment is identified in the attached sketch entitled Alternate 1. Initially, this roadway will service a minimum of 550 vehicles per day. This projection is based on an analysis of the traffic using the east/west streets immediately north of the proposed roadway. The fact that convenient crosstown access would be available will generate additional trips. Without the benefit of a relatively costly origin/destination engineering study, however, it would be difficult to quantify this amount of additional traffic. The alignment will reduce the travel between the two points it connects by 0.4 miles and will eliminate four tums currently being made by traffic wishing to traverse these two points. Within a 20 year design period, traffic counts on this segment of roadway are anticipated to triple. The construction of this roadway will reduce traffic on 156th Avenue from 468 vehicles per day to approximately 74 vehicles per day. Likewise, the traffic on 158th Avenue can be expected to decrease by approximately 150 vehicles per day. The total project cost is anticipated to be $600,000 with about $400,000 being anticipated in construction cost. Major construction costs associated with this alignment include grading, paving, curb and gutter, wetland construction and impact mitigation.