By: Mollee Francisco
Monday marked the release of the much-anticipated Highway 41 Minnesota River crossing document, called, a draft environmental impact statement (EIS).
However, it did not come with the answers many were looking for – namely a preferred route for a future river crossing.
“It basically said ‘Here are the options. Here are the issues with each one. We’ll decide what the preferred option is later,’” Chaska City Administrator David Pokorney told the Chaska City Council Monday night.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) has been studying the possibilities for a new river crossing between Shakopee and Carver for some time now, with traffic forecasts spelling the imminent need for relief from congestion, as well as for a freeway connection between Highway 169 and future Highway 212.
Preferred route this fall
The draft EIS is designed to “identify the six potential corridor alternatives and evaluate the social, economic and environmental impacts associated with each alternative.”
“It’s not uncommon that the draft EIS has the preferred alternative,” noted Pokorney.
A memo from project consultant Nancy Frick, with SRF Consulting Group, indicated that the preferred route will be chosen following a public comment period.
The draft EIS was made available to the public for review on Monday and will remain available through Aug. 10.
The massive three-inch document was distributed to local government centers and libraries late last week. Project manager Diane Langenbach indicated that MnDOT was also working on making the study available online.
“Following the close of the (draft) EIS comment period, resolution of any outstanding issues, including the selection of a preferred alternative will then be made by MnDOT and (the Federal Highway Administration), in consultation with federal, state and local agencies, and after consideration of the comments received during circulation of the draft EIS and public hearings,” Frick wrote.
A timeline included with the report indicated that a route would be chosen this fall. Meanwhile, a series of public hearings will be held July 11 and 18 in Shakopee and Chaska to answer questions and collect comments on the project.
The Chaska City Council will be reviewing the draft EIS and formalizing its comments for MnDOT in the coming weeks. The council hopes to be unified on one of the options, although all of the alternatives pass through Chaska and are likely to impact residents, businesses and natural areas in one way or another.
Detailed impacts
The study details the need for a new river crossing and goes through the six options as well as a seventh no-build option. It also examines various direct and indirect impacts including transportation, social, economic, environmental, recreational and historical.
Further, it looks at unavoidable adverse impacts, like right of way acquisition, noise, visual disturbances, loss of farmland, vegetation, floodplain and wetlands as well as impacts to the Minnesota Valley State Recreation Area and the Minnesota Valley State Trail. Some of the conclusions could be difficult for residents to swallow.
“For neighbors throughout the study area, the structures established under any of the six alternatives would be visible from distances up to two miles away,” the study noted.
Following the selection of a preferred alternative, MnDOT will release a final EIS sometime next summer and right-of-way preservation will begin. A second EIS process will be initiated three years prior to construction. MnDOT does not have an anticipated construction date as of yet, and the project is not listed in its 20-year plan.
Public comment period: June 18-Aug. 10
Public hearings:
Wednesday, July 11
5-7:30 p.m.
Scott County Government Center (205 Fourth Avenue West, Shakopee)
Wednesday, July 18
5-7:30 p.m.
Chaska Community Center (1661 Park Ridge Drive)
Read it locally:
Carver County Offices (600 East Fourth Street, Chaska)
Scott County Offices (200 Fourth Avenue West, Shakopee)
Chaska Library (3 City Hall Plaza, Chaska)
Chanhassen Library ( 7711 Kerber Boulevard, Chanhassen)
Scott County Library (235 South Lewis Street, Shakopee)
For more information on the proposed project, see MnDOT’s Web site at projects.dot.state.mn.us/srf/041 [2].
See next week’s Herald for more on the study.
TELL US: How do you feel about the proposed options?