More than 100 people attended an open house Tuesday at the Monticello Community Center to find out more about the future of the Hwy. 25 corridor. The two-hour event, hosted by the Hwy. 25 Corridor Coalition, was a way to provide information and gather input from the public about potential river crossings.

 

Traffic congestion issues have plagued the corridor on Hwy. 25 between I-94 and Hwy. 10 for years. Projections show the average number of trips per day increasing to 47,000 by the year 2040.

 

Tuesday, the Coalition presented five different potential scenarios for alleviating congestion while accommodating future growth in Big Lake, Becker, Monticello and Big Lake and Becker townships.

 

Residents and business owners in the area had a chance to voice their concerns and offer new ideas about how to resolve some of the issues.     

 

Not everyone had an opinion about where the new crossing should go. But they all agreed something had to be done.

 

“At some point we’ve got to make a decision. We’ve got to come to a conclusion,” said Big Lake Mayor Raeanne Danielowski. “People all know there’s a concern and we need to get a crossing.”

 

The further west option (A) included a new I-94 interchange with a crossing near the Monticello Nuclear Power Plant that connected to Co. Rd. 11.

 

Option B was a capacity expansion of the existing Hwy. bridge and changes to Co. Rd. 11 to improve traffic flow.

 

“It doesn’t necessarily mean more lanes,” said Sherburne County Director of Public Works Andrew Witter. “It could mean fewer access points or eliminating signals.”

 

Witter said evaluating the existing corridor is a federal requirement once the coalition gets into the environmental impact process.

 

“If it is adequate or can be improved to be adequate, we can’t do any of these other options,” he said.

 

Option C is a local connection from Monticello just east of the Hwy. 25 bridge. It connects downtown Monticello to Big Lake Twp., but doesn’t connect to I-94.

 

Options D and E are further east of the Hwy. 25 crossing and connect I-94 with Big Lake Twp. and move north to Co. Rd. 17.

 

Danielowski said most of the people she spoke with prefer either Option D or E because they alleviate traffic in the City of Big Lake. She said some people have posted a different option online that aligns further east with Wright. Co Rd. 19 in Albertville.

 

But Witter said that option isn’t compatible with the goal of moving traffic.

 

“The issue with that option is all the regional traffic will be going through Big Lake on Hwy. 10,” he said. “We don’t want to perpetuate that.”

 

He said studies show the further the option is from the existing Hwy. 25 corridor, the less traffic it alleviates.

 

Of the 47,000 trips per day projected for 2040 on the Hwy. 25 corridor (Option B), Options A and D would reduce that number by 18,000. The Option E crossing would take 14,000 and Option C would reduce it by 11,000.

 

Witter said all the options are on the table so far, but the Coalition will be using public input as well as looking at social, environmental and ecnomic impacts to reduce the number down to probably three options.

 

He said there are no cost projections.

 

“We don’t know yet. We’re just at the beginning,” he said. “Once we get feedback here and do some more evaluation, we’ll narrow it down. Then we’ll look at costs.”

 

The goal is to have a plan prepared for April, then hold another open house in April or May.