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Officials make plea for North Branch bridgeBy Barbara Brown North Branch and Chisago County officials made a plea to the chairman of the stateís transportation finance committee for money to build the Hwy. 95 bridge over I-35. At the Monday afternoon meeting, Rep. Bill Kuisle (R-Rochester) heard the cityís plan to improve the bridge that spans the interstate and joins the west side of the city with the east side. Kuisle told the city and county people in attendance at the meeting that he was in North Branch to listen to concerns about the bridge, but that he could not promise any results. While the city has been working on the project for about nine years, it seems financing promises have yet to come to fruition. City officials have met with state officials as well as U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar to explore different areas that could be used to pay for the estimated $10 million project. Dresel told Kuisle Monday that the greatest problem with the bridge is safety. She told him that during heavy traffic periods, motorists can be stopped on the span for a lengthy period of time waiting to get across or turn on to the ramps to the interstate. Dresel also summarized some of the cityís safety concerns with the bridge. While the structure is sound, it is not safe for pedestrian or snowmobile traffic to traverse because traffic on the bridge stacks up and takes up all the space on the bridge, leaving no room for pedestrians. Several vehicle accidents and near misses have occurred at both the turn areas on the bridge. Dresel told Kuisle that there is only enough room to stack two vehicles into the turn lanes. County Administrator John Moosey told Kuisle that people have opted to cross I-35 on foot rather than risk crossing the bridge. ìThere have been a number of incidents when young people, teen-agers, have crossed 35 rather than battle the bridge,î Moosey said. ìWeíve even heard of women with strollers crossing 35 because there is no room to cross the bridge.î Another public safety issue is the potential for a serious back-up to delay the response of a fire truck, ambulance or police vehicle in case of emergency when they have to cross the bridge. ìThis is a safety issue now,î Dresel said. ìItís not so much about where the traffic is coming from or where itís going or about development. We have to remember there is a safety issue here.î The bridge was built in the late 1960s when North Branchís population was well below 3,000 people. The city is projected to double in size by 2020. While the city has been working on getting the bridge improved for years, the recent announcement by Andersen Windows that it is building a plant in North Branch ñ and the potential for several other large businesses when the cityís industrial park expands ñ has helped push the need for improved traffic flows. The Hwy. 95 bridge over I-35 has been listed as the top priority for Chisago County and the East Central Regional Development Commission. Despite that, the project has not been approved for funding from state or federal entities and it is not even listed on the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) 10-year work plan or ìto do list.î MnDOT will not review the plan until a financing plan is in place, city officials said. One reason the project has not seen the approval stamp is because Chisago County is included in the metropolitan area for transportation funding and it must compete with projects for highways including highways 212 and 694. ìThe problem is the metro is seven counties plus one; and weíre the one,î said state Rep. Pete Nelson. ìAnd you know how we stack up against every one of those Twin Cities projects.î State Sen. Sean Nienow agreed. ìThere is no way we can compete with a 694 project, but weíre dealing with the same amount of traffic pressure,î he told Kuisle. ìThe pressure is building to a phenomenal level.î The city and county agreed they will continue to meet with state and federal officials whenever necessary to push for funding of the bridge project. Kuisle agreed to meet with city and county officials in a joint session with East Central Regional Development Commission representatives, MnDOT officials and Rep. Jim Oberstar when he becomes available. ìWe know that if we donít push the project ourselves, itís never going to get done,î Dresel said. ìThe thing we have to remember, all future development aside, is that we have a problem now and itís not going to get any better.î ©ECM Post Review |