Minutes - Council Work Session - 10/12/2021

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Commissioner Look answered that a third lane on Highway 65 made sense to address before getting Highway 10 started but that will not happen now and they don’t want to do the Highway 10 work and add a third lane on Highway 65 at the same time because it will cause even more congestion. He explained the third lane on Highway 65 would be a post Highway 10 project with completion around 2026. He noted these roadways are not functioning very well under today’s conditions but they need to be done and account for the increased growth. He noted every city to the north of us has a main revenue source in selling permits and building homes, so there is a guarantee that more traffic will be coming into the system and we have to respond to that situation. Representative Heinrich stated the third lane project on Highway 65 seemed to be the most shovel- ready project they have discussed because room is there and the bridges were built originally to accommodate a third lane. He noted it would help if MnDOT could help get that project done before starting other projects. Representative Heinrich stated next year, the County Road 47/Highway 10 interchange, the Rum River Bridge, is slated for spring of 2022. Then Fair Oak/ Thurston/Sunfish/Ramsey Boulevards is scheduled so that is a long time to then come back to a lower cost project that is shovel ready. He asked if the third lane project on Highway 65 could be put in front of these others projects. Ms. Barnes answered there was zero chance of that happening because construction on Rum River and Fair Oak/Thurston start in the spring. With regard to the funding that Commissioner Look spoke of, she explained it was for creating final plans for the third lane project so once they are through the final plans phase, it could be more shovel ready at that point. She explained it is moving towards being completely ready but right now they don’t have final plans. Representative Heinrich asked if not during the timeframe of Fair Oak/Thurston, could a third lane project be considered in Sunfish/Ramsey timeframe or at the same time. Ms. Barnes answered that the impact to Highway 10 traffic during the Ramsey/Sunfish construction will be much less than with Fair Oak/Thurston which will be very impactful, which is a big difference in construction impact. Ms. Barnes asked to respond to Commissioner Look’s comments about the river crossing, Mn/DOT’s stance on priorities, and preferred alternatives. She stated Mn/DOT does not have a position on it and this study was in response to a request from the Legislature. The priority of Mn/DOT is maintenance of our pavement and bridges. She stated through this analysis, they found with the spacing and amount of traffic on this road, it very likely will not be a Mn/DOT or State roadway and possible it could be a City or County roadway. She wanted to clarify that they are happy to start talking about it but they wouldn’t be the lead or champion on the bridge. Councilmember Musgrove asked if bridges are typically the responsibility of City, County or State. Ms. Barnes answered that bridges are State owned, County owned, or City owned depending on whose road it is and sometimes it will involve interstate ownership. Councilmember Musgrove asked in this case, where there are two cities and two counties, where the ownership would fall. City Council Work Session / October 12, 2021 Page 7 of 13