FHWA, Mn/DOT Approvals Launch "Monster" Interchange Project
Anoka County Preparing To Seek Design Proposals
ANOKA - It's (almost) offcial. The letter isn't yet in the mail, but Anoka County Engineer Doug Fischer reports that the county has received verbal approval of the proposed I-35E/CSAH 14 interchange layout from Mn/ DOT and the Federal Highway Administration.
PHOTO BY GREG GRANGER
It's a "monster" 6-legged interchange, Fischer says, with "four ramps and two loops" - a partial cloverleaf. And it's just what weary Hugo, Lino Lakes and Centerville drivers have been dreaming of.
Fischer presented the good news to the I-35W/E Coalition at its September 13 meeting at Hugo City Hall. Members of the coalition have been working together toward this end since the agencies signed a Joint Powers Agreement for Transportation Infrastructure Planning back in 2004.
At that time, representatives of Anoka County, Washington County, Lino Lakes, Centerville, Hugo, Forest Lake and Columbus pledged to work together to coordinate "planning and implementation of the transportation infrastructure" in the area.
The green lights from Mn/DOT and FHWA mean that the county is free to go ahead with completion of preliminary design efforts, which have been underway for months, and begin the final design phase for the $15.5 million project.
Construction is planned for 2009; however, it is unknown at this time whether the project schedule will be affected by the funding of the I-35W bridge replacement in Minneapolis.
Selecting The Final Alternative
Early on, SRF Consulting was hired to evaluate many different interchange alternatives.
County offcials preferred an alternative that moved traffic on and off the I-35E freeway most efficiently. The two loops in the partial cloverleaf eliminate the need for left-turning movements across CSAH 14 for southbound drivers entering and northbound drivers leaving the interstate.
For southbound traffic, traffic from Centerville and western Lino Lakes will turn right to enter the freeway. Hugo residents will cross the bridge westbound and turn right onto the loop, circling around beneath the bridge to head south.
Under the proposed design, Fischer said that both southbound entrance ramps "will first merge together into a single entrance onto I-35E," a design that addresses Mn/DOT's concerns about dumping too many cars onto the freeway, which is congested during rush hour.
By merging the ramps, the freeway entrance can be metered with an adjacent HOV (high-occupancy vehicle) bypass for buses and cars with more than one occupant.
This will allow Mn/DOT to control the rate of access for traffic entering I-35E, which Fischer said is important for its proper operation.
Northbound drivers who wish to exit the freeway eastbound will simply turn right at the top of the exit ramp as they do now. Northbound drivers who are headed to Centerville, for instance, will exit beyond the bridge, and circle the cloverleaf to enter the westbound lanes of CSAH 14.
The county is preparing to request formal proposals from engineering design firms to complete the final design drawings for the project. In order to maintain the project timeline, identification of needed right-of-way remains a critical element of the design, and will only be possible after engineers determine the interchange "footprint," Fischer said.
Land acquisition will need to begin in the spring of 2008 to keep the project moving on track. For the most part, property remains to be acquired on the north side of the interchange, particularly on the northwest quadrant.
Where Is The Money Coming From?
In addition to $5.5 million in federal funding secured through the Metropolitan Council's regional solicitation process, Anoka County and the city of Lino Lakes will be major contributors to the cost of the I-35E/CSAH 14 interchange project - and if that sounds familiar, it should.
"We've been working with the city of Lino Lakes on their 'combo platter' of interchange projects," Fischer joked, referring to the I-35W/Lake Drive interchange currently being reconstructed less than four miles west of I-35E (see photo Page A1), a project in which the county played a lead role.
The county will see the I-35E project through design and most of the land acquisition process, Fischer said, while the city of Lino Lakes will pick up its local share of right-of-way and construction costs. Those costs are estimated in the city's Five Year Financial Plan at $4.5 million; however, that number is likely to go up, said Lino Lakes Community Development Director Michael Grochala.
"We're really waiting for the preliminary design and cost estimates to be completed to see what our share is going to be," he said, adding that the city is looking at cost allocations that will likely involve area special assessments.
As to whether Mn/DOT will contribute their construction inspection expertise on this interchange project as it did on the I-35W/Lake Drive bridge, Fischer said, "We're always going to be looking at all possible sources of funds that we can get."
County officials believe that funds expended on this project have a far-reaching impact beyond simply reducing the wait time at an outdated bottleneck in the road.
"I see this as a regional asset," Anoka County District 6 Commissioner Rhonda Sivarajah said in an interview, "that will not only provide the opportunity for a smoother transportation system, but for economic development."
Sivarajah sees the accelerated construction schedule as an opportunity to "get ahead of the curve," in view of development rapidly coming to the area. She credits former Congressman Mark Kennedy for his efforts in procuring $250,000 to finance the preliminary design of the interchange, and an additional $800,000 for the federal share of final design costs.
But it has been a bumpy road for everyone, especially local residents and business owners who are resigned to watching their gas gauges drop while waiting to cross the freeway on the outmoded and congested 2-lane bridge - with the view of Washington County's newly completed four-lane highway project on the east side.
And it will get worse before it gets better: Anoka County will be putting the finishing touches on its new four-lane CSAH 14 reconstruction project on the west side at about the same time those terribly familiar orange construction signs begin to go up once again - this time for a 6-legged monster of an interchange.