Road projects list is a long one

A five-year plan for roughly 64 miles worth of paving and other road and bridge projects was outlined to the Carlton County board on Tuesday.

The tentative list of projects presented to the committee of the whole included only a half-mile of roadway reconstruction work this summer, on 22nd Street from Washington to Prospect avenues in Cloquet, along with a number of repavement projects moving forward.

The longest stretch, 9 miles of County Road 6 to Barnum, is scheduled for 2028 and will replace more recent work that has deteriorated far ahead of its time.

"It's an example of doing it right the first time, and we wouldn't be in this situation," said commissioner Gary Peterson, who blamed the contractor for starting work prior to letting the frost leave the ground.

County engineer JinYeene Neumann said normally the life of a paved road is 20 years, depending on how harsh the winters are.

Of the seven county projects on tap for this summer, most are related to box culverts - installation of box culverts across Elim and Hunters creeks on County Road 6, and twin box culverts going in along County Road 13, outside Barnum.

While the 22nd Street reconstruction project figures to begin as soon as school closes, the most notable project scheduled this year is the J-turn, or restricted-crossing U-turn (RCUT), outside Kwik Trip in Carlton. That project is being paid for by state and federal funds. Neumann was able to secure federal carbon reduction funds, as it is anticipated that the completed roadwork will cause less vehicle idling at the busy intersection.

The state is paying $250,000 of the $750,000 project and, as a result of the $500,000 federal grant, the county will be responsible for only those costs exceeding the estimated cost.

The project will be bid in July, assistant engineer Rick Norrgard told the board, with plans to start in the fall, or next spring at the latest.

"It's going to be really similar to what the state has on Highway 33 across from Subway," Norrgard said, of the Cloquet project that was completed last year.

Norrgard called it a safety issue.

"It's tough to get across sometimes," he said of the four-lane intersection at highways 61 and 210.

The J-turn, will make it so vehicles cannot cross all four lanes of traffic. Instead, drivers must turn with the flow of traffic and use the J-turns to come back the other way. So, exiting Highway 61 will mean turning east toward Carlton. A traveler wishing to go west to Cromwell, e.g., would then take the J-turn lane heading west. Same with Kwik Trip customers who want to go to Carlton. They'll need to head west to get back east.

The MnDOT project website said the work is also in reaction to the Carlton County Justice Center, which opens later this summer. The new $75 million jail, courthouse and Sheriff's Office building "will increase traffic volumes and decrease mobility at the intersection," MnDOT said. "This intersection will be reconstructed as a reduced conflict intersection to accommodate the increased volumes and increase mobility."

As part of the project, Highway 61 will be shifted west, reducing some of the S-curve nature of the road as it approaches the intersection, Norrgard said.

"As it moves west, it will straighten out a little bit more," he said of Highway 61.

Norrgard cautioned the board that the five-year roadwork plan was fluid and subject to change, depending on funding and how far out a project is.

"It's always a work in progress, depending on needs," Norrgard told the board. "It seems like it's always evolving; roads always change, needs always change."

Highlights for the coming years include:

• A total of 20 miles of paving work planned for 2025, including 3.5 miles of Brevator Road to North County Line, and 5.5 miles of roads in Brookston. The county is negotiating with the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa about county roads 113 and 114 in Brookston, as the Band may take over those roads as soon as 2025.

• Installation of a half-mile multiuse trail in Cromwell along Highway 210 in 2025.

• Bridge replacement over the Moose Horn River on County Road 138 in 2027.

All projects are on the county's website under the Transportation Department tab.

Any projects on county roads numbered over 100 are utilizing the half-cent sales tax that began last decade and was aimed at catching up with transportation projects.

Neumann said the tax generates roughly $2 million per year for county road work.

"The only way for us to fund roadways (numbered) over 100, our county roads, is through levy dollars or local option sales tax," she said.

Local option sales tax will be used in at least 14 projects over the next five years.