02-11-2013 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, January 28, 2013 7:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 5 of 11 (5. WILLOW DRIVE PRELIMINARY DESIGN UPDATE, Continued) David Martini addressed the City Council regarding Willow Drive. At the present time Willow Drive has an average width of approximately 34 feet, which includes a bituminous surface and narrow gravel shoulders. At its narrowest, the road is about 30 feet in width. It is a rural drainage section with ditches on both sides of the road and culverts to convey storm water runoff. Along the road there are areas of tree cover that are located near the bottom of the ditch and areas of wetland adjacent to the road. The proposed reconstruction will include the complete removal of the pavement section and potentially a portion of the underlying subgrade. In order to reconstruct Willow Drive to MSA standards, a typical section which includes 12-foot driving lanes, 6-foot shoulders, and a 1-1/2 foot recovery area on each side of the road will need to be constructed. This will require the footprint of the road to be 39 feet wide, which will require the existing road to be widened. On the east side of the road between the north and south side of Dickey Lane, some ditch improvements are needed up near Kelley Parkway. There is also one area that will need a little more extensive ditch work in the area of Willow Drive to handle the drainage more effectively. Currently there are a number of culverts with no end structures on them that should also be addressed. In addition, there are a couple of pedestrian ramps that are not up to current MSA standards and those are proposed to be replaced. From a right-of-way standpoint, all of the proposed improvements can fit within the existing right-of-way. To accommodate the widening that is necessary to meet MSA standards, City Staff has considered the following options: Option 1 – Leave the centerline of the road in its current location and widen on both sides of the road. This option minimizes wetland impacts on the west side of the road but requires fairly significant tree removal along the residential properties on the east side of the road. Although all of the tree removal would occur in existing City right-of-way, it is anticipated that the proposed tree removal will be a concern to the adjacent property owners. Option 2 – Move the centerline of the road five feet to the west to eliminate tree impacts on the east side of the road. This option essentially eliminates tree impacts on the east side of the road but at the same time increases wetland fill on the west side. A 5-foot offset also narrows up the area between the road and the existing trail, which makes it difficult to re-establish a standard ditch section in some areas. Option 3 – Move the centerline of the road three feet to the west to reduce tree impacts on the east side of the road. The centerline would be transitioned back to its existing location at the north end of the project to line up with Willow Drive north of CR 6. This option essentially eliminates tree impacts on the east side of the road with the exception of the wooded area between the north and south legs of Dickey Lane Drive. This option has more wetland impacts than Option 1 but less impacts than Option 2. It also allows for more room for ditch restoration on the west side of the road when compared to Option 2. Item #03 - CC Agenda - 02/11/2013 Approval of Council Minutes 01/28/2013 [Page 5 of 11]