Scott County: Move river crossing east

By Shannon Fiecke

On Tuesday, Scott County commissioners came out in support of an easterly route, E-1A, or a combination of the eastern alternatives, for the new Minnesota River crossing.

Although these routes are the highest priced and would displace the most homes and businesses, the county argues they offer the most direct transportation connections and less time on the road for motorists.

The central and western options are furthest away Highway 169, the closest major river crossing, the county further noted.“The easterly alignments provide the most benefit,” Scott County Engineer Mitch Rasmussen told the county board. “River crossings 10 to 12 miles apart is not good long-term planning.”

He said Dakota County has six crossings within a 15-mile corridor.

The state is planning to build a new river crossing in 30 years to connect Highway 212 in Carver County with Highway 169 in Scott County, somewhere in the vicinity of the existing Highway 41 crossing.

Using today’s dollars, the freeway would cost anywhere from $390 to $620 million, depending on the route. Of the possible routes, the easterly alignments come closest to Shakopee, with E-1A connecting with Highway 169 at County Road 69 on the town’s western border. The new freeway’s northerly end would intersect at the new Highway 212 on the other side of the Minnesota River.

The Shakopee City Council reviewed the alternative routes in a meeting last week, but came nowhere close to selecting a favorite. Staff is preparing comments on the recent state report. The Shakopee council is slated to discuss the matter further on Wednesday night, after this publication goes to press.

Should the E-1A option prevail, Scott County feels there’s actually a chance for improve issues related to the fen and affordable housing.

It’ll be 20 to 30 years before the bridge is even built, which gives state departments ample time to find ways to mitigate the impact on Seminary Fen, said County Engineer Mitch Rasmussen following the board meeting.

“By pooling their resources, they can probably come up with a method to better protect and enhance the fen than it is today,” he said. 

The state would be able to buy up most of the residences as they become available on the market, Rasmussen said. The proposed bridge could be a catalyst for cities and the Metropolitan Council to address where and how more affordable housing opportunities can be provided in the area, he said. 

With the E-1A route’s interchange connection at Highway 69, there’ll also be better opportunity for a more contiguous, well-planned commercial development than with the central or westerly options, Rasmussen noted. 

Scott County Commissioner Joe Wagner of Sand Creek Township told board members he wasn’t too concerned about the route’s environmental impact.

The fen isn’t even a living thing, he said: “It’s a plant.”

Wagner said building bridges today is much more complicated and expensive because of the bureaucracy and worry over things like bird flight patterns.

Nature must be taken care of, responded Commissioner Jerry Hennen of Shakopee, but he also said transportation dollars must be spent where it “does the most good.”

Scott County considered all routes in its analysis, said board chairwoman Barb Marschall of Prior Lake. And its focus was beyond just Scott County, but on the entire region.

Of the alternatives, “there are none of them that are perfect,” she admitted.

The route for a new river crossing is to be selected later this year and finalized next summer.

Scott County hopes land can start being purchased as soon as possible to preserve the corridor, much like what happened for the new Highway 212. 

Money will ultimate be the key in whether land is preserved. With roads and bridges continually under-funded, Ulrich said the Interstate 35W tragedy could be the impetuous for legislators to finally pass a comprehensive transportation funding package.

“We have a dynamic opportunity here,” Ulrich said. “There will be a willingness to fund that hasn’t been there.”

Correspondent Shannon Fiecke can be reached at sfiecke@swpub.com.