6.4. SR 01-05-09 - Laserfiche WebLink

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RESOLUTION 09- A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF ELK RIVER A RESOLUTION REQUESTING FEDERAL AND STATE FUNDING FOR TRUNK HIGHWAYS 10 AND 169 IMPROVEMENTS WHEREAS, The City of Elk River has two major four lane trunk highways that intersect within its borders, those being Trunk Highways 10 and 169, that serve both as key commuter corridors from the Northwest suburban areas to Minneapolis and St. Paul and as primary routes to northern Minnesota and its tourist areas; and WHEREAS, The City of Elk River has experienced significant traffic congestion caused by pass-through traffic that hinders the ability of its residents to travel through the City and which also significantly delays the ability of workers to get to their jobs and tourists to travel to their vacation destinations; and WHEREAS, recent projections prepared by the Minnesota Department of Transportation indicate that the expected continued growth throughout the area will exacerbate the traffic congestion problems, soon limiting traffic speeds throughout the downtown area to under 15 miles per hour; and WHEREAS, These trunk highways are used by tens of thousands of non-residents on a daily basis; and WHEREAS, The City of Elk River has received no funding from the State of Minnesota for these projects and the projects are not currently included in the State of Minnesota's 30 year transportation plan; and WHEREAS, The City of Elk River has spent $1,500,000 of its own money to fund engineering studies to design these highways to allow the City to continue to develop the property abutting and surrounding the roadways in a way that fits with the ultimate road design, such studies are now in the process of being submitted to the State for final review; and WHEREAS, The cost of these improvements is estimated at $750,000,000, which far exceeds the funding ability of a City of 25,000 in population and which likely exceeds the funding ability of the State of Minnesota without significant contribution by the Federal government; and WHEREAS, from various news reports, it is believed that the Federal government may be making substantial funds available in the near future for highway infrastructure purposes; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Elk River requests that Federal and State funds be allocated to make immediate improvements to Trunk Highways 10 and 169 for the safety and benefit of all who use them.