Road, bridge continue to puzzle city council
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What to do with Sunset Boulevard and the Anne Street Bridge have been unsolvable puzzles for the City of Minot in recent years. The Minot City Council didn't come any closer to resolution during discussion of a $438.88 million, five-year capital improvement plan on Monday.
"That's been a royal pain in the neck for people in the northwest part of Minot for years," council member Stephan Podrygula said of Sunset Boulevard. "It will be an even bigger pain for all the people in western and northern Minot with the high school coming and more traffic and more growth anticipated."
Sunset Boulevard is a dirt road between 21st and 19th Avenues in northwest Minot, not far from the U.S. Highway 83 Bypass. Created to bypass the 83 Bypass, the roadway was graveled a number of years ago to make it easier for emergency vehicles to use it as a shortcut, Minot City Engineer Lance Meyer said.
The street runs across unplatted property for which the city holds an easement. A utility easement also runs under the property.
"But it still remains outside the city limits and still lacks dedicated right of way. It's just a set of easements," Meyer said.
Meyer said any improvement cost can't be special assessed to landowners because the benefit is to an unplatted parcel outside of city limits.
"From my perspective, it's this never-ending saga of why we can't do it," Podrygula said. "It's not even a mile-long street and it causes problems for people, and it's going to cause more problems. And we seem to be powerless to do anything about it."
"The philosophical question that we all need answered is how much money are we willing to spend - but then throw away," Meyer said. "Because we can pave it, but that road is not at any kind of design elevation that will fit in with development. It won't support any sidewalk. It won't support any street lighting at this point."
If a developer shows interest in the surrounding property, the pavement would have to be removed and the road reconstructed, he said.
"If you're looking for ways to be smart with taxpayer dollars, from that standpoint, it's probably not a good investment," Meyer said. "That's why staff has been encouraging the council not to spend anything on this, because we know for a fact it's throwaway."
Asked about closing the road and saving the city the maintenance and dust control, Meyer said that is an option but it would lengthen the route of emergency responders in that area. However, possibly with the construction of a new northwest fire station, impact to emergency response is lessened, he noted.
While Sunset Boulevard is not in the capital improvements plan, the Anne Street Bridge is in the plan as a placeholder only. The downtown bridge that extended over the Souris River and railroad tracks has been out of commission since the 2011 flood.
"We have been looking for federal funding," Meyer said. "Some of the challenges we have with the federal funds that are out there is they're really geared towards large-scale projects, where you are impacting hundreds, if not thousands, of commuters or pedestrians a day."
Another issue is federal grants have timelines, and the bridge project needs to fit into the construction schedule of the flood protection project, Meyer said. The flood protection phase for that area still is in design.
"Once we know what our footprint is and we know what the span of the bridge has to be - because even that's in flux right now - then we'd have a better opportunity to take that data and then try to apply for a grant," Meyer said.
Council member Carrie Evans noted a downtown group also is looking for funding opportunities, particularly from sources aiding historical structures.
"It's on a lot of people's radar," she said. "That's good but, hopefully, no stone will be left unturned."
Council member Paul Pitner suggested the entire area of the bridge be looked at by the city and park district for development of a park or green space associated with the flood protection project.
Meyer agreed a plan would help in the city's efforts to land a federal grant by showing how the bridge fits into a larger purpose. Engineers estimate a cost of about $5 million for a bridge of shorter span but with accessibility features.
Pitner stressed the goal isn't to reconstruct the Anne Street Bridge as it has been.
"We're not building the same wooden bridge again," he said. "The goal is to create a pedestrian walkway to traverse the tracks to make it safe for our community and make it more welcoming."
The $438.88 million, five-year capital improvement plan proposed to the council by the City of Minot Engineering Department has about a third of funds coming from the federal government and a quarter of funding from the state.
The breakdown in spending includes $186 million in public works projects, including flood protection; $96.2 million for sanitary sewer; $73.47 million for engineering, including street projects; $33.15 million for water projects; $28.48 million for the airport; and $21.57 million for storm sewer.
The city also is looking at two major sidewalk projects. An extension of the Edison Safe Route to Schools along 16th Avenue Southwest would connect to a shared use path and cost about $700,000. The first phase of a project along 21st Avenue Northwest, between Ninth and 12th streets, would cost $380,000.
Both projects are on the schedule for construction in 2025. The plan also envisions a pedestrian crossing beacon on 21st Avenue near the soccer field.
Podrygula mentioned public concerns about the capacity of 21st Avenue Northwest to handle the traffic when the high school opens.
Meyer said a traffic study showed left turn lanes might need to be lengthened and some lighting added at intersections, but the roadway should be adequate. He said the city will further evaluate the function of the street after the school opens.
Work progresses on new landfill entrance
As construction continues on a recycling transfer facility west of Minot, the Minot City Council on Monday advanced other projects in that area that will accommodate a relocation of the city landfill entrance.
The city plans to move the landfill entrance, now located a mile west of Vallely Marine on 20th Avenue Southwest, to 37th Avenue Southwest. Construction on a watermain has been completed, along with a new entrance approach and interior road.
The council approved hiring Prairie Scale Systems for $239,680 to relocate the landfill truck scales, including construction of concrete foundations and dismantling the two existing truck scales at the current entrance.
The council voted to accept the bid of American Security and Gate to install a six-foot chain link fence around the perimeter of the property to control access. It includes installing an entrance gate and a gate on a field approach. The total expense for the fence project is expected to be $325,000, which is less than the $430,000 originally budgeted.
- Jill Schramm