Cliff Buchan
News Editor

City of Forest Lake approval of final design plans for W. Broadway Avenue and potential new I-35 freeway wonít be made any time soon.

But city leaders Monday gave consensus approval to an outline of where county and city planners will move to tackle the highway project that is slated for construction in 2007.

At a special work session Monday, the five-member council agreed in principle that a new interchange would follow one of two diamond formats that would work best for the CR-2 crossing of I-35.

Under the study now taking place, council members agreed planning should continue to explore a new overpass of I-35 at SW 11th Avenue. Under current rules federal highway officials are not expected to allow I-35 access at 11th Avenue but new crossing would take traffic pressure away from W. Broadway and provide a second route to cross I-35.

Five city and county engineers were on hand Monday to make the presentation and field questions.

Don Theisen, county engineer, said Washington County is committed to improving CR-2 which has the ìhighest crash rate in the countyî and severe congestion.

ìDoing nothing is no longer a solution,î Theisen said. ìItís not going to get any better.î

The city-county design study will focus on options that include a CR-2 interchange redesign with and without a new overpass. Officials said Monday one option could include a Broadway improvement plan that would be smaller in scope if the 11th Avenue overpass is built.

Cost will be a factor, Theisen told the council this week. While state and county dollars are earmarked for the project, local and federal dollars will be needed, he said.

A bonding bill in 2007 at the county level is now scheduled to provide $16 million for the CR-2 project. In 2003, the county appropriated $500,000 for the current design study.

The city and county continue to lobby for federal and state dollars.

The 2004 federal highway bill included $3 million for the CR-2 project under the leadership of Congressman Mark Kennedy. That bill, however, stalled in Congress. Now, the city and county is requesting a $6 million appropriation in the new highway bill.

Theisen said the cityís share of the project could climb to 20 to 25 percent, but may not be as high if a major interchange project is ordered.

In comments Monday, Mayor Terry Smith asked if planners had considered a northbound exit to Forest Lake at Broadway that started farther south, perhaps using the frontage road.

Councilman Rick Ashbach said he was concerned state and federal officials were making decisions based on out-of-date information. He added that US-8 and its connection to Forest Lake could see more usage as more development comes to the Wyoming Township area to the east.

Councilwoman Susan Young raised questions regarding pedestrian movement through a new interchange.

Councilman Dick Tschida said the 11th Avenue overpass concept should include discussion from Columbus Township and Anoka County officials.

Councilwoman Judy Bull was not ready to back any of the plans, saying she needed more time to review the information and ask questions.

Theisen and other engineers said the planning to date has involved input from a Broadway Business Task Force.

In addition to the 11th Avenue overpass, planners have looked at a crossing point at SW 3rd Avenue and NW 1st Avenue.

11th Avenue was the consensus choice of the business task force last week. It is some three-quarters of a mile south of CR-2 and links directly to US-61 to the east. The NW 1st Avenue project would encounter wetland issues near I-35 and would dump into a residential area to the east.

The SW 3rd Avenue project would impact some existing business locations, has no direct link to US-61 to the east and would wind through a residential and school area.

While engineers said current rules would likely rule out any future I-35 connections, they said efforts could be made to change the thinking on the part of regulators.

A key advantage of a new overpass, planners said, would be to move local traffic from Broadway to 11th Avenue. An estimated 16,000 to 19,000 vehicles a day would utilize the new overpass, engineers said.

Smith agreed a new 11th Avenue overpass would move local traffic off Broadway but wouldnít address the normal congestion caused by motorists attempting to get on and off I-35 at CR-2.

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Forest Lake, MN 55025
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