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September 11, 2021 <br />Page 33 <br />Step 2: Narrow the Range of Feasible Improvements <br />Having considered the mobility impacts of MnDOT's capital program and identified a range of <br />possible improvements to the future highway network, the next step in the analysis was to evaluate <br />the feasibility of improvement ideas on four factors: <br />1. Will it improve traffic flow across the Mississippi River? Traffic modeling was conducted to determine <br />how well a potential concept would improve congestion and traffic flow. <br />2. Is the project consistent with local and regional plans? Each potential improvement was considered based <br />on city and county comprehensive plans, regional plans, and projects in the area planned or <br />currently under construction. <br />3. What is the residential and community impact? Concepts were evaluated based on right of way needs for <br />the project and the potential for residential and commercial property acquisition and disruption. <br />4. What is the impact to natural resources? Each concept was evaluated based on effects to local parks, <br />lakes, and the Mississippi River. <br />This analysis eliminated seven ideas from further analysis. The eliminated ideas included both <br />mobility improvement ideas on Highway 169 and all new river crossings except for the <br />Zanzibar/Armstrong Alignment. These improvements were eliminated from consideration due to <br />inconsistency with local plans and the likelihood for high residential, community, and natural <br />resource impacts. In addition, the Highway 610/East River Road Interchange was eliminated from <br />further analysis because it was found to be a local access improvement, not a regional mobility <br />improvement. <br />Table 4 summarizes the results of the screening analysis to narrow the overall list of improvements <br />to the range of feasible improvements. This shows the assessment of each of the four factors <br />shown above, and concludes with the determination of locations carried forward or eliminated with <br />a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down", respectively. <br />Northwest Metro Mississippi River Crossing Feasibility Analysis <br />