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1. Top Priority: U.S. Highway 10 Priority Projects <br />ISSUE: U.S. Highway 10 is a principal arterial roadway providing significant transportation connections <br />from Minneapolis — St. Paul to the northwest suburbs and Greater Minnesota. The 4-lane roadway <br />(Anoka/Sherburne County line to the Rum River in Anoka) carries average daily traffic volumes ranging <br />from 33,500 to 61,000 vehicles per day. <br />This corridor is commonly congested and has much higher than average crash and crash severity rates <br />than comparable corridors. In addition, the corridor has four signalized intersections and numerous <br />direct access points (14.5 per mile); which contribute to the degradation of the U.S. Highway 10. Over <br />the past ten (10) years, thirteen (13) people have died in crashes on this 7-mile corridor. Four (4) <br />fatalities were pedestrians; including (3) from 2013 to 2014. <br />Highway 10 has been studied numerous times over the past decade, each time a full -freeway status <br />was identified as the ultimate solution. However, due to limited funding opportunities at the State <br />and Federal level, full -freeway status would be difficult to achieve within the next 20 years. <br />As a result of funding constraints, MnDOT and Bolton & Menk completed a study to achieve freeway - <br />like status for U.S. Highway 10 in the fall of 2014. This study is known as: The U.S. Highway 10 Access <br />Planning Study. This study achieves 90% of the safety and operational benefits of a full -freeway for <br />50% of the cost. The intent of this study is to identify high -benefit improvements that are fiscally <br />responsible so that improvements can be funded, programmed, and implemented incrementally. This <br />study has been formally adopted by MnDOT, Anoka County, the City of Anoka and the City of Ramsey. <br />The City is currently completing a preliminary engineering and design study of the Highway 10 corridor <br />in Ramsey in order to identify solutions for each of the two remaining intersections (Sunfish Lake <br />Boulevard and Ramsey Boulevard), plus the inter -connecting system of frontage roads. This study will <br />be used to identify and prioritize specific corridor improvements in Ramsey. <br />RECOMMENDATIONS: <br />A. Included in the U.S. Highway 10 Access Planning Study is a recommended, prioritized, list of <br />improvement projects. The City of Ramsey recommends State and Federal funding sources be <br />secured to implement both "immediate" and "short-tem" priority projects. <br />B. The City of Ramsey's general position on U.S. Highway 10 is more resources must be dedicated to <br />all components of the State's transportation system, and local units of government must have <br />access to resources and funding tools to meet growing needs. <br />C. The City of Anoka has secured the funding needed to complete the Thurston/Fair Oak Interchange <br />Project. Consequently, the City of Ramsey supports efforts to secure funding for rail and road <br />improvements at Sunfish Lake Boulevard and at Ramsey Boulevard, and an additional lane of <br />traffic to Round Lake Boulevard in Coon Rapids. <br />D. The City of Ramsey's position on rail crossing improvements along U.S. Highway 10 is the City <br />opposes legislation and policies that disproportionately shift authority, costs, and/or liability away <br />from railroad companies and onto units of government. Additionally, the City supports funding <br />for separation of rail -vehicle traffic as a critical matter of public safety and congestion. <br />E. Technical Correction: The City will seek language to correct existing 2018 legislation that allocated <br />$2 million to the rail/road grade separation at Ramsey Boulevard, to allow funds to be used for <br />either a rail underpass or overpass in that location. <br />2018 City of Ramsey Legislative Platform <br />