Laserfiche WebLink
City Council Minutes <br />March 1, 2010 <br />Page 2 <br />John Weicht, 13880 Islandview Drive, presented a letter with his ideas for a plan. He also <br />presented a drawing proposing a `tight' intersection and felt this type of intersection would <br />take less undeveloped land away from property owners. He stated he disagreed with the <br />figures the staff from HKGi presented and asked that this study be rejected and a geometric <br />study completed. <br />Todd McLouth, Oliver & Associates, 580 Dodge Avenue, indicated he was hired by Mr. <br />Weicht and discussed the drawing of the intersection that Mr. Weicht presented. He <br />indicated the plan was called a single point interchange and stated all traffic movements are <br />controlled by one traffic light. He indicated this interchange would be more compact than <br />the diamond interchange and have less land impact by about 400'. He stated he felt this type <br />of plan would have less of an impact on wetland areas. He asked the City to consider this <br />option with the other options presented. <br />Councilmember Gumphrey asked Mr. McLouth if he knew the cost difference between a <br />single point interchange and a diamond interchange. <br />Mr. McLouth stated a typical diamond interchange would cost approximately $8-10 million <br />dollars and the cost for a single point interchange recently cost the City of Otsego <br />approximately $12-14 million dollars. <br />Commissioner Touchette stated he feels this type of plan would require more elevation <br />changes, and cited the example of Hwy. 101 and the lack of visibility to the adjoining <br />businesses due to the retaining walls. <br />Mr. Weicht believed the plan for Highway 10 was to lower the road 10', so in this instance, <br />you would still have good visibility of the businesses by using a single point interchange. <br />Councilmember Westgaard stated the study wasn't to determine the type of interchange, it <br />was more about land use, traffic circulation, and the relationship between the east and west <br />side of Highway 10. He would like to have a geometric study done as the next step in the <br />process. He doesn't want this plan to impact existing businesses and he would like to see the <br />intersection as far north as possible. <br />President Dwyer asked about a geometric study. <br />Mr. Barnhart stated it is an in-depth engineering analysis which determines how roads are <br />designed and placed, environmental impacts, grading; going into significant detail. Recently, <br />a geometric study completed for Highway 169 was $1 million dollars and a study for <br />Highway 10 was $.5 million dollars. <br />President Dwyer asked how the project was initiated. <br />Mr. Barnhart stated it is technically Mn/DOT's project but the City pays a portion or all of <br />the cost. <br />President Dwyer asked if the City would lose control of the design of the plan by having <br />Mn/DOT in control. <br />Mr. Barnhart stated it is possible the final plan may be changed and stated the final plan <br />might end up being a combination of all three plans. He stated Mn/DOT would gain <br />