Agenda - Council Work Session - 01/17/2012

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CC Work Session 2.2. Meeting Date: 01/17/2012 By: Tim Himmer, Engineering/Public Works Title: Consider Accepting MnDOT Municipal Cooperative Agreement Funding for the Extension of Riverdale Drive Background: The TH 10 and Armstrong Boulevard interchange project continues to advance through the environmental review process. During one of the open houses, early on in the public process, the City received a couple of comments from property owners along the south side of Highway 10 (east of Armstrong Boulevard) requesting a secondary access. Their concern was that the future interchange would obstruct visibility of eastbound travelers, thereby making it extremely difficult to access their sites. In response to those comments, and consistent with MnDOT policies and previous corridor studies, access management to those properties via a frontage road system became part of the project design (see attached conceptual design). The first phase of the proposed frontage road system along the south side of TH 10 includes an extension of Riverdale Drive, from approximately Alpaca Street to Traprock Street. In an effort to keep the costs of the interchange project to a minimum, the City may decide to advance stand alone projects for portions of the work; including the Sunwood Drive realignment and the Riverdale Drive extension. Advance constructing these projects would be done to improve traffic flow through the area in the short term, and be used as a City contribution to the overall interchange project in the future. The City Council approved a resolution of support for the Riverdale Drive extension on August 23, 2011, and staff submitted a grant application to MnDOT under their Municipal Cooperative Agreement program. The City request sought the maximum allowable funding of $702,000 to assist in paying for a portion of this frontage road work, which is estimated at $1.5M. The alignment and design for this frontage road is slightly different from what is shown on the interchange concept and includes improvements that would benefit the overall highway system; specifically median revisions at Traprock Street for safer ingress /egress, construction of acceleration /turn lanes on Highway 10 at Traprock Street, and closure of Alpaca Street at Highway 10 (see attached conceptual layout). The City recently received an award from MnDOT stating that we had been selected for full funding under the 2013 Municipal Agreement program. In order to take advantage of this grant opportunity we must respond by January 24, 2012 if we intend to accept the funds, and the project must be let no later than June 30, 2013. Observations: The estimated project cost of $1.5M includes a 20% contingency and other associated costs for right -of -way acquisition, engineering, and administration. While constructing the roadway extension is fairly straight forward, direct impacts to a couple of properties along the south side of TH 10 are required. Staff has met informally with representatives from Hope Fellowship Church to discuss the potential impacts to their vacant parcel. Overall they were supportive of the project, but were extremely interested in getting municipal utilities extended to their property. They felt that an opportunity may exist for a mutually beneficial relationship whereby they would dedicate the needed right -of -way in exchange for the City constructing the roadway and extending utilities to serve their property. Attached is a draft letter that staff has prepared to outline a proposal for such work. Should the City agree to accept the MnDOT funds we are obligated to acquire the necessary right -of -way, and staff is looking for Council direction as to whether this is the route they would like to continue investigating as a means to acquire the needed right -of -way. Currently sanitary sewer and watermain are located just south of TH10 on Armstrong Boulevard, and the potential extension from this location to the Hope Fellowship property is estimated at $1 M. Staff is currently attempting to set up meetings with the owner of the former Diamonds site and Anoka County