Minutes - Council Work Session - 10/12/2021

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northbound and southbound traffic is as it crosses the river. If the traffic is balanced, over the course of a day the bridge can carry a lot more traffic. However, if the traffic is heavier in one direction, it creates more pressure and congestion. Mr. Morris stated the analysis found that Highway 101 had the most unbalanced traffic pattern with the heaviest volume in the morning going southbound and the reverse in the afternoon. The other two highways were more balanced. Mr. Morris stated that the Congestion Analysis looked for three things: the severity of how slow traffic gets, the duration of how long congestion lasts, and the extent or how far back the que extends from the congestion. These are conditions the average commuter experiences. The analysis found that in the morning, there was major congestion on Highway 169 in Elk River, Highway 101 in Rogers, I-94 heading towards the city, and most of Highway 169 between Highway 10 across the river and to Highway 610. The causes of this congestion included issues with merging, traffic capacity, and traffic signals. In the afternoon, the reverse is true as it relates to congestion. Mr. Morris described the highway projects coming up in the next few years that may help with congestion. He provided a summary, noting most of the major highways in this area have some degree of congestion and explained that by identifying bottleneck areas, it will give a target of where to look for solutions and make improvements. Mr. Morris stated when addressing solutions, they considered improvements already in the pipeline or programmed in the next few years. He presented a list of solutions generated to alleviate congestion, noting one of the first solutions is to address traffic signals. He explained they separated solutions with merit from those not feasible to more forward and looked at each through several lenses. The considerations were whether the solution improved traffic across the river, were consistent with local planning, and residential and community impacts in terms of already developed areas and natural resource impacts. He stated the list of solutions they will carry forward for more analysis include improvements to Highway 10 going west in Ramsey to Elk River, Highway 10 in Coon Rapids, Highway 101 in Rogers, and Highway 610. Mr. Morris noted they packaged the solutions into several concepts: Concept 1 includes project areas on Highway 10 and Highway 101 in Rogers; Concept 2 adds the additional segment of Highway 610; and Concepts 3 and 4 focus on the addition of a new river crossing between Highways 101 and 169. They looked at a four-lane, 45 mph-type of road with traffic signals every one-quarter mile versus an expressway in Concept 4 that is a highway design of 55 mph with farther spacing between signals. They evaluated that with a benefit-cost analysis that showed the total benefits including societal benefit to save time, savings in crashes, and vehicle operating costs by reducing total miles traveled. Mr. Morris explained the present value of costs is a rough indication of capital costs required to construct each alternative; however, it only looks to a 20- year horizon. Councilmember Riley asked about a four-lane expressway and if I-94 would connect with Zanzibar. Mr. Morris answered yes, and as far as the analysis it roughly aligns with Zanzibar and ties in with Highway I-94 at the Dayton Parkway interchange. He noted this is one alignment that has already been studied but these are illustrative concepts and if the corridor moved it would not have a big bearing on the economics. City Council Work Session / October 12, 2021 Page 3 of 13