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5.3. SR 04-29-1996CONSULTINGENGINEERS 1326 Energy Park Drive St. Paul, MN 55108 612-644-4389 1-800-888-2923 Fax: 612-644-9446 April 24, 1996 File: 230-213-20 Honorable Mayor and City Council City of Elk River 13065 Orono Parkway P.O. Box 490 Elk River, MN 55330 RE: CSAH 1 ISSUES ITEM 5.3. Dear Council Members: CIVIL ENGINE?!NG ENVIRONMENTAL MUNiCiPAL P~NNING SOLID WAST~ STRUCTURAL SURVEYING TRAFFIC TRANSPORTATION ELECTRICAL/MECHANICAL ENGINEERING HVAC POWER DISTRIBUTION SCADA SYSTEM CONTROLS OFFICES IN: MINNEAPOLIS PRIOR LAKE ST. PAUL WASECA As you are aware, the County is planning to upgrade CSAH 1 from approximately the intersection of County Road 77 north to County Road 32. Over the past several months, there have been a number of meetings to discuss the issues involved with the CSAH 1 upgrade and the intersections at School Street and TH 10. These meetings have included City and County staff, County staff and City Council, and County Board and City Council. Currently, the County has the plans complete consisting of a 4-lane design with 12-foot shoulders for a total roadway width of roadway of 72 feet. Dave Schwarting, County Engineer, has indicated the County plans to move forward with this improvement starting in 1996. However, they have not submitted the plans to MnDOT for approval of the use of County State Aid dollars pending the City communicating their position on the design of the roadway and the issues regarding the intersections at School Street and TH 10. Basically, I believe the issues can be put into two categories. The first would be the design of the road, including the existing portion between TH 10 and County Road 77, and the second category is City Park and Recreation issues. In early April, I met with Dave Schwarting, his assistant, Doran Cody, and Terry Humbert from MnDOT. We thoroughly discussed the various alternatives for the roadway design issues and came up with three options that would be acceptable to the County. They are as follows: A. THREE LANE DESIGN This would involve constructing the improvement from County Road 77 to County Road 32 to a 4-lane width, but striping it initially for three lanes--one northbound, one southbound, and a center two way left turn lane. It would also involve restripping that portion of CSAH 1 from TH 10 to County Road 77 as a 3-lane facility. There would then be a signal installed at CSAH 1 and School Street intersection. The benefits of this alternative are as follows: Would eliminate the left turn confusion at TH 10 by moving left turn vehicles opposite each other rather than offset as they currently are. This could be accomplished with little or no improvement to the intersection itself, thus minimizing any cost to the City associated with improving these left turn movements. 230/213-2405.apr An Equal Opportunity Employer Honorable Mayor and City Council April 24, 1996 Page Two Would require no additional land acquisition from properties adjacent to CSAH 1 at the TH 10 intersection or the School Street intersection. With the installation of the signal system at School Street, would eliminate congestion at this intersection by providing left turns opposite each other. The disadvantages to this design are as follows: From the intersection of County Road 44 (Meadowvale Road) to County Road 32, there would be a center left turn lane with virtually no left turn opportunities. The County has indicated that this would be a temporary solution and that they would commit to the 4-lane alternative when the right-of-way is available for improving the intersection of School Street and TH 10. However, one of the negatives with this alternative is the potential that, once it is constructed, it becomes permanent. I believe that the 3-lane design would have sufficient capacity for current and future traffic for the foreseeable future. However, I also believe that in the long-term future, the capacity of a 3-lane design would be exceeded as the northwest area of Elk River continues to develop, and also areas north of Elk River which feed through the City on CSAH 1. This would be a negative to a 3-lane design if, in fact, it did become permanent. Bo FOUR-LANE DESIGN WITH INTERSECTION IMPROVEMENTS AT TH 10 AND SCHOOL STREET This option would construct CSAH 1 from County Road 77 to County Road 32. As currently designed by the County, 72 feet wide, it would be striped for four lanes with a 12-foot shoulder on each side. The shoulder area would be striped for right turn lanes where appropriate. It would also involve improvements to the intersection of School Street and TH 10. These improvements would require the widening of the intersection to introduce a left turn lane. New signals would be installed at School Street and a left turn phase for CSAH #1 would be included. The benefits of this type of design are as follows: Would eliminate the problems with left turns at the TH 10 intersection by moving left turning vehicles opposite each other, rather than offset. Would also likely include a left turn phase for CSAH 1 on the signal. 230/213-2405.apr Honorable Mayor and City Council April 24, 1996 Page Three Would eliminate any congestion and/or safety concerns about the School Street intersection by providing a signal system which includes left turn arrows and left turn lanes on CSAH 1. Would provide a roadway that is designed to accommodate both existing and long range future traffic. Disadvantages of this design are as follows: The improvements at the School Street intersection will require land acquisition from 12 to 17 feet from the residential properties in the northwest corner and the apartment properties on the south side of the intersection. The County has indicated they want the City to be the lead agency in acquiring right-of-way, including utilizing their eminent domain powers if necessary. The road improvements would move south bound vehicles 6 to 12 feet closer to the residential properties. Land acquisition may also be necessary at the TH 10 intersection. However, when CSAH 1 was upgraded in 1991, the City did acquire seven additional feet from each side for a total right-of-way width of 80 feet. If additional right-of-way is not necessary immediately, this improvement to the intersection of widening the road would move the street out to within three to five feet of the existing right-of-way, adjacent to both the residential properties on the northwest corner and the commercial property on the northeast corner. This design at the intersection of TH 10 will likely require that 6th Street on the west side of the intersection be closed. The cost associated with land acquisition will at least be 50% borne by the City. Improvements to the TH 10 intersection will be borne by the City and the County. The only thing that MnDOT will participate in is 50 % of the signal modifications. Ce FOUR LANE IMPROVEMENT WITH INTERSECTION IMPROVEMENT AT TH 10 ONLY This would be the same as Option B listed above for the TH 10 intersection. The difference between this option and Option B would be at School Street. This option would leave the School Street intersection a 4-lane design with no widening to introduce a left turn lane. Because there would be no left turn lane constructed, the signal system would not be installed at this time and the intersection would continue to operate with an all-way stop. 230/213-2405.apr Honorable Mayor and City Council April 24, 1996 Page Four The benefit of this design option would be that no land acquisition or widening of the street is necessary at the School Street intersection. Thus, there would be no impact to the residential properties or the apartments near the intersection. The negative associated with this design option would be that the 4-way stop at School Street would remain in effect. Thus, any congestion problems that are currently experienced at that intersection would continue. Also, any safety concerns associated with the 4-way stop and no dedicated left turn lanes would also remain. The City Park and Recreation issues can be divided into two separate and distinct issues. The first is the Park and Recreation Commission's desire for a detached pathway along CSAH 1. Dave Schwarting has indicated the County is willing to include this in their plans. He may require that the City do the design for its inclusion. He will clearly require that the City pay all costs associated with a detached pathway. If the City opts to include a detached pathway in this project, Dave would likely narrow up the shoulders from their current 12-foot width to a 6 or 8-foot width. A 10 to 12 foot wide bituminous pathway would cost approximately $15.00 per foot. To build the pathway from the end of the current sidewalk that heads north along CSAH 1 to the north end of the County's project would require approximately two miles of pathway for a total cost of approximately $150,000. The second issue brought up by the Park and Recreation Commission is their desire for a tunnel in the location of the railroad trail crossing CSAH 1. Dave Anderson Commission member, provided me some information regarding a 12' x 8' precast box culvert which indicated the material cost was about $300 per foot. I would think that installation and providing ramps to and from the culverts along with lighting and other improvements necessary could be expected to double this cost. Given the width of the road, side slopes, and end sections necessary would likely make the structure over 100 feet long. Thus, I believe the cost of such an installation would be at least $60,000. I have briefly researched the soils report prepared in 1991 for the sanitary sewer along the railroad bed, and it does not appear that the water table would be a significant problem. However, the soft soils that were encountered when the sanitary sewer was installed certainly are a concern and would have to be fully investigated. This may add additional cost to this type of installation. Finally, with a pedestrian facility underground approximately 100 feet long, I am sure there would also be some safety concerns from the Police Department. Relative to the road design options, I would recommend Option A, the 3-lane design, to the City Council. I base this recommendation on the fact that I believe this design would solve left turning problems at TH 10, would have the least cost to the City, would require no eminent domain proceedings, and, finally, would have the least impact to the abutting properties. However, I do believe that the 230/213 -2405. apr Honorable Mayor and City Council April 24, 1996 Page Five concern that, once the 3-lane road is installed, it may become permanent rather than an interim solution, cannot be discounted. Therefore, I recommend that the City Council look for assurances from both the County Engineer and the County Board as to when and what is required to trigger the change from a 3-lane roadway to a 4-lane facility with left turns at the intersection of School Street and TH 10. If you have any questions regarding these issues, I will be in attendance at your April 29, 1996, City Council meeting. Sincerely, MSA, CONSULTING ENGINEERS Terry J.~Maurer, P.E. TJM:tw 230/213-2405.apr