The future of the Lime Street access from Hwy. 24 in Clearwater is in doubt, and city officials are looking at ways to try to keep it open.

 

When the decision to build a new Hwy. 24 bridge was made a few years ago, one of the things the state decided was to close the access at Lime Street before the completion of the bridge.

 

 Although it isn’t a major intersection, people have used the local access to get to businesses like Transportation Repair Service, the Clearwater Legion, the hardware store, dental office and Clearwater Corners.

 

It is also a more convenient route for residents of Walnut Street and connecting streets.

 

The decision to close it was based on the theory that it was a safety hazard - too close to the Hwy. 24/Co. Rd. 75 intersection. State officials with MnDOT felt motorists would be confused about where cars were turning when they moved into the turn lane. 

 

Clearwater city officials were against closing the access from the start, and have been looking at different ways to keep it open. With the bridge slated for opening this fall, time is running out. The access is currently blocked as construction crews work on sections of Hwy. 24.

 

The city has contacted local legislators in attempt to get some support, but haven’t made any progress.

 

Last week, Councilman Richard Petty suggested contacting someone at the decision-making level at MnDOT to get an answer whether there was any chance to keep the access open. 

 

“The situation is that we want to do what we can keep the access open,” he said.

 

He asked that the council allow him and Administrator Kevin Kress  to contact someone at MnDOT to get an answer.

 

He said the claim that the access is dangerous isn’t based on fact. There are no reports of accidents because of the access.

 

“It’s existed for so many years, it’s not a guess as to whether it’s a safety hazard,” he said. “History has told us whether it is or not.”

 

City Engineer Joe Pelawa with Bolton & Menk said there should be numbers to back that up.

 

“That would be the discussion with the traffic engineer with MnDOT,” he said. “He would have direct access to the accident data at that spot.”

 

He said MnDOT routinely closes access points whenever they feel they could be dangerous.

 

“This is MnDOT’s philosophy on all state roads  -eliminate accesses,” he said. “If you eliminate accesses, you eliminate accident points. But you can’t eliminate all accesses. People have to get on and off the road somewhere.”

 

Pelawa said a different approach might also be a possibility - moving the access so it was further north from the main intersection.

 

“Instead of just focusing on Lime Street, if they say it’s too close to the Co. Rd. 75 intersection, pull it back from the intersection,” he said.

 

That could be a possible solution. But Petty said they need to make contact with someone who can give the city a final answer.

 

“And if they say “no,” what are the city’s options?” he asked.

 

He said at that point it might require some legal action on the city’s part to see if proper procedures were followed in the decision to close the access.

 

“If we can’t work with them, the council has to decide, do we have a legal situation?” he asked.

 

Since the council doesn’t meet until June, rather than delay any action for another month, the council directed Kress to make contact with MnDOT to get the process moving.