Top river crossing contender skirts downtown Chaska

Although none of the options for a future Highway 41 Minnesota River crossing have been taken off the table as yet, Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) staff now admits that central option C-2 was once their preferred alternative and remains a top contender.

MnDOT is currently in the process of selecting a preferred corridor for a new crossing over the Minnesota River to ease traffic congestion along existing Highway 41 and provide a direct connection between new Highway 212 and Highway 169. The project does not have funding and is not among those in MnDOT’s 20-year plan.

MnDOT project engineer Diane Langenbach confirmed that they did come up with a proposed preferred alternative earlier this year and that it was C-2 which would connect at new Highway 212 near County Road 147, go through the planned Heights of Chaska, over Athletic Park, down the levee, across Highway 41 to connect with Highway 169 in the south.

However, when MnDOT began to present the choice to the various cities, counties and agencies involved in the process, not everyone was thrilled. “We were met with serious resistance,” Langenbach said, forcing them to go back and think about their decision.

MnDOT met with a stakeholders advisory committee yesterday to resume talks on the future river crossing. While Langenbach indicated that the purpose of the meeting was for the parties to voice their reactions to C-2 or a C-2 alternative, she noted that they would still be talking about the other routes.

“We want to make sure that we’re making a decision that can be backed and supported,” said Langenbach.

Mayor Gary Van Eyll said no decisions were made at that meeting. “Everyone spoke about their point of view,” he said.

Chaska City Administrator David Pokorney said they received the news about MnDOT’s proposed preferred alternative in January. C-2 was the city’s last choice for a future river crossing, with officials noting its effects on the historic downtown, including Athletic Park. Instead, Chaska had advocated for the westerly W-2 route.

The council’s position remained unchanged as of Monday night, when the council discussed what approach they would take in the future talks.

“Moving away from this position doesn’t make sense today,” said Pokorney.

The council agreed, reiterating that the W-2 route still had the highest cost-benefit ratio, and the least impact on homes, businesses and parks.

Councilor Bob Lindall pointed out that C-2 and W-2 had similar end points.

“With such little difference between the end points, why lay waste to our city when they could go through an open path?” he asked of the W-2 route.

For Tracy Swanson, president of the Chaska Historical Society Board of Directors, C-2 is the worst choice MnDOT could make.

“C-2 would be a real disaster,” she said. “It impacts the most people out of all of the corridors.”

From a historic preservation perspective, C-2 is considered a huge threat to downtown for its close proximity and sheer height.

“This part of downtown is what’s unique,” said Swanson. “And Athletic Park is considered one of the finest facilities in the state.”

Langenbach said it was clear that “no one’s going to love what we pick,” but wanted to continue moving forward toward some sort of consensus.

Langenbach still did not expect MnDOT to announce a preferred alternative anytime soon. Hampering progress is the fact that the state is without a permanent transportation commissioner since Carol Molnau was ousted in late February.

“My best guess is that we’ve still got a couple of months,” she said.

-Mollee Francisco, staff writer

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