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July 2012 |
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UPDATES ON HWY 5 CONSTRUCTION IT WARRANTS EXTRA CAUTION IN VICTORIA June 11th, 2012 "It's been a busy two weeks," said City Engineer Cara Geheren on June 11th. "Most of the calls have been about the signal light at Hwy 5 and County Road 11 in downtown Victoria. There were problems with signal timing delays. MnDOT came out and corrected it. Last week was much calmer." Construction and road closures on Hwy 5 in Victoria began right after Memorial Day. "We've seen a tremendous amount of traffic on Stieger Lake Lane," said Cara. "Contractors have expressed concerns about the volume of traffic and safety, especially at crosswalks. Pedestrians and vehicles have to be cautious." Asked Councilmember Tom O'Connor, "Have you got any feelings about the business traffic?" Replied Holly Kreft, Community Development Director, "Certain businesses feel it's down, but overall it varies. Businesses along Stieger Lake Lane are seeing an increase in business because of the additional exposure." Mayor Mary Thun mentioned there was a concern about traffic downtown Victoria at the Kid Talk intersection. "How about a stoplight there or a stop sign or a painted crosswalk? There are often children in tow at that intersection." The city engineer said she would look more closely at the safety and traffic in that area. She also reported that Hwy 5 is scheduled to close from 78th Street to Hwy 41 on July 6th, and that will entail "a whole new traffic pattern that will develop." Cara said that the intersection at County Roads 10 and 11, south of Victoria, "was a challenging intersection even before the Hwy 5 project. Carver County and MnDOT are considering signage there. They're working on who's going to pay for it." Councilmember Tom Strigel said he travels that intersection often. "There is an increase of traffic there," he said. "I think it warrants some extra caution." Cara said she's also received calls about speed and traffic on 78th Street and dust on 82nd Street. "It's a state aid road [78th]," said Cara. "We tend to save up our gas tax money for it so we can pay as we go. We had anticipated development on the property between Madelyn Creek and Kochia Lane but development slowed. I hope to see it in the budget for 2014 because the road is falling apart." Stated Mayor Thun, "I suggest you rethink that. Those residents on 78th are going to be going through quite a bit. I suggest you think about doing it sooner. Said Cara, "We'd need to start working on it right now in order to do it in 2013." She will review the possibility of doing it sooner.
June 25th, 2012 "Construction is ongoing at the Bavaria Road intersection," said City Engineer Cara Geheren on June 25th. "There's a chance they'll be done by Thursday, June 28th, which is the deadline, but I suspect it'll slip a little bit. We've had some rain." Added Cara, "The City of Chaska is moving closer to closing 82nd Street behind the Arboretum. It's not built to accommodate the number of cars it's now getting. Traffic is four times greater since Hwy 5 construction started. There have been complaints. We've met with the Chaska city engineer and Public Works. There were no good alternatives to closing 82nd Street." A full closure of Hwy 5 between Hwy 41 and Stieger Lake Lane (at 78th Street) in Victoria was proposed to begin on July 6th. Cara said it will probably begin July 9th. Closure is in effect in order to make turn lane improvements at intersections, signal modifications, construct the pedestrian underpass, and resurface the heavily traveled roadway. When Highway 5 fully closes at Hwy 41, Bavaria Road will be open, so traffic can then move up to Highway 7 or down Bavaria Road to maneuver the detours. In any case, said Cara, Highway 5 will not be closed until Bavaria Road is open again. Cara said she has some concerns about the signs currently up along Hwy 5 at Hwy 41 that report Hwy 5 is closed ahead ... and yet people have learned it hasn't been totally closed. "So do they now put up new signs that say, 'Now we're really closed'? I'm concerned about that," she said. "It's a tough challenge to balance the through traffic and the local traffic." Cara said work hours on the Highway 5 construction projects are from sunrise to sunset, "which has an element of subjectivity to it."
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