10-14-1996 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE COUNTY ROAD 6 PUBLIC INFORMATION MEETING HELD AT 7:00 P.M. ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 19% Members present; Mayor Callahan and Councilmembers Jabbour, Hurr, Kelley and Goetten. Staff present; Ron Moorse, City Administrator. Others present; Bruce Polaczyk and Steve Theis of Hennepin County Department of Transportation. Mayor Callahan began the meeting by indicating the first segment of the meeting would be an opportunity for residents to review the proposed preliminary layout in detail using plans provided by Heanepin County. The second segment would be an opportunity for residents to ask questions and make comments regarding the proposal. Bruce Polaczyk provided background information on the project and indicated construction is planned for late ’97 and 1998. Steve Theis explained the preliminary layout. He explained the new layout of the intersection of County Road 6, McCulley Road and Watertown Road One purpose of the new intersection layout is to funnel traffic from east bound County Road 6 to Highway 12 versus using Watertown Road. The question was asked as to whether a semaphore would be needed at this intersection at some point in the future. Mr. Theis indicated it would be a minimum of 10 to 15 years before the intersection would begin to meet warrants for a semaphore. Mr. Theis indicated the purpose of the reconstruction project is to improve safety and to replace the roadbed which has reached the end of its service life. Mr. Theis described the cross section of the roadway design. The segment from Watertown Road to the northeast will be a three lane roadway. The segment from Watertown Road to Townline Road will be a two lane roadway. There will be curb sections in the front of homes to avoid the major impact of a ditch section. The amount of right-of-way width required on the three lane section is 103 feet. The amount of right-of-way width on the two lane section is 89 feet. Mr. Theis explained the grading limits and the right-of-way corridor limits on the layout. The design speed is proposed to be 50 miles per hour in Independence and 40 miles per hour in Orono. A resident suggested that the curves and "charm" should be left unchanged to force people to slow down. Mr. Theis indicated there are two alternatives for straightening the curve at Townline Road. One alternative moves the roadway 20 feet to the north. The resident asked why the project is simply not an overlay of the existing roadway similar to County Road 15. Mr. Theis responded that this road has reached the end of its service life and is deficient in a number of safety areas. A simple overlay is not sufficient to address these problems.