By MaryHelen Swanson

There will be a public hearing at the Nov. 27 North Branch City Council meeting for the Hwy. 95 Bridge Project municipal consent process.

North Branch has been working with the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) on the Hwy. 95 bridge replacement and road improvements associated with that project.

Now Mn/DOT has approved the final layout, with contingencies, and is requesting municipal consent from the city.

Usually, according to information provided at the Oct. 23 city council meeting, Mn/DOT submits the layout for a project like this to the city for consent.

But North Branch is aiming for a much earlier construction timeframe, according to City Engineer Julie Dresel, so the city has taken the lead and submitted the layout to Mn/DOT.

After many meetings, Mn/DOT has approved the final layout.

Municipal consent is an agreement outlining the project layout and a general, good faith estimate and cost responsibility for the project.

Basically, Dresel said, the city is agreeing to a ìpictureî of the project and acknowledges that the city will be a financial participant in the project.

The exact cost split between the partners is determined during the design phase of the project which cannot begin until the city has granted municipal consent.

North Branch must approve or disapprove of the final layout within 90 days of the public hearing.

Funding of the bridge and road project will be with federal, state, county and city funds. However, Mn/DOT has specifically requested that the funding chart not show the federal share. They provided a chart that indicates cost splits for the project as if there are no federal funds involved.

Dresel also noted that Mn/DOT has specifically requested that the split of the bonding costs not be shown on the chart. She noted that Mn/DOT did not say it will not participate in the bonding costs.

By granting municipal consent, North Branch can begin the design phase when the city is authorized to spend federal funds it has been authorized to receive.

Dresel noted that short-term costs for design will be paid for with federal and local funds.

Short-term and long-term costs for construction will be funded by federal funds as they become available and by bonds, to be funded by the federal funds available at a later time and by state, county and local funds.

Total cost estimate for the entire project is $22,052,980.

Public hearings are held at the beginning of the council meetings which start at 7 p.m.

For more information, contact Julie Dresel at City Hall, (651) 674-8113.