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<br /> <br />Item 5.3. <br /> <br />13065 Orono Parkway <br />Elk River, MN 55330 <br /> <br />June 3, 2005 <br /> <br />The Honorable Mayor and City Council <br />City of Elk River <br />13065 Orono Parkway <br />Elk River MN 55330 <br /> <br />RE: VARIOUS TRANSPORTATION ISSUES <br /> <br />Dear Council Members: <br /> <br />Part of Monday evening's City Council workshop is dedicated to various transportation <br />issues. This memo will provide a brief background on each of the items. For several of the <br />more complex item, I have attached additional backup material. It will be difficult at <br />Monday evening's meeting to cover all of these topics in detail, but I will be prepared to <br />discuss any of these items that the Council may have questions about or comments. The <br />items I have on my list are as follows: <br /> <br />1. School Street Extension Westerly to Upland Avenue (County Road 44) <br /> <br />This was one of the top four transportation priorities that the Planning Commission <br />recommended to the City Council. This may ~e the most long-term of the four issues. <br />The reason is that the westerly extension of School Street to Upland Avenue will require <br />a crossing of the Burlington Northern Railroad tracks. It is unlikely that the City would <br />be allowed another at grade crossing. Also, an at grade crossing would not help traffic <br />flow better in the long run. Therefore, a bridge crossing of the railroad tracks will likely <br />be needed to ultimately construct this corridor. Using an assumed bridge length of 1,200 <br />feet and the MnDOT annual estimated cost of$80 per square foot for bridge structures, <br />together with a roadway typical section similar to School Street east of Proctor Avenue, <br />the bridge component of this connection will likely be in the $5 million range. In <br />addition to the bridge, there will be a need to acquire right of way from the Elk River <br />Concrete property. Staff would recommend to the City Council that to pursue this <br />transportation corridor, staff be directed to work with Elk River Concrete Co. to begin <br />discussions on a viable future route for a roadway through their property that will <br />minimize disruption to their plant operation. We would suggest that this be an ongoing <br />discussion item with no immediate deadlines for accomplishment. To help visualize the <br />alignment of this corridor, attached is an aerial photograph of the area. <br />Phone: 763.635.1000 <br />Fax: 763.635.1090 <br /> <br />www.cLelk-river.mn.us <br />