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Mr. Dan Erickson Minnesota Department of Transportation May 5, 2003 Page! Variance Justification Fox Street is an east-west street through a wetland area. The approaching toads on each side of the bridge have a pavement width of 24 feet and the total surface width, including the shoulders is 27 feet wide. Therefore, the shoulders are l.S feet wide on each side of the pavement. The roadway embankment has slopes of approximately 2H:1V on each side. The slopes continue until they reach the wetland on each side of the road. The area is fairly well developed, except for the wetlands, at this time which reduces the likelihood of increased traflic volumes. Widening of the existing street would require filling of the wetlands. This will not occur due to the constant traffic volumes in the area and the impacts on the wetlands. Given the constraints of the existing wetlands, the design standards developed by MnDOT are difficult to comply with. Therefore, we outline the following points of justification for the requested variance: 1. Substandard Streets: The streets in the area of the bridge are substandard compared to current MnDOT standards due to the wetlands. The approaching streets on each side of the bridge are approximately 24 feet in width and will continue to be that width in the future. The proposed bridge width is consistent with the approach roads. 2. Avoid Severe Environmental Impacts: Widening of the bridge and the approach roadway would significantly impact the adjacent wetlands. Minimizing the amount of roadway width will limit the environmental impacts of the project by reducing the amount of fill that would be placed in the wetland. Minimizing the amount of filling of the wetland will increase the chances of receiving permits from environmental agencies. Impacts of the Variance Economic - The variance would allow a narrower bridge to be constructed. The narrower bridge would be less costly to construct which is a savings for the funding source which is anticipated to be the State Transportation Fund. The narrower bridge would not have any negative economic impact on the adjacent property owners. Social - The variance requested for the proposed bridge would not have any social impacts. Safety - The variance for the proposed bridge will not significantly impact the safety of the public. The proposed bridge is about 2 feet wider than the existing bridge. Therefore, the wider bridge will improve the safety of the site as compared to the existing conditions. Environmental - The variance for the proposed bridge would have positive environmental impacts. The variance would significantly reduce the amount of wetland area that would need to be filled by maintaining the same approach roadway width. .