By Ryan Gueningsman
Delano Herald Journal Managing Editor

Beginning in April, the City of Delano will become consumed with Highway 12 construction, detours, and most likely some headaches, but in the end, it should result in a more efficient corridor through town.

Construction is slated to begin Tuesday, April 1, and will include the reconstruction of the highway through the city, as well as the replacement of the bridge crossing the Crow River. This phase of construction is set to be completed in November 2008.

A second phase, set for 2009, will redo the railroad bridge that spans across Highway 12, as well as widen the corridor through town as it heads northwest toward Montrose.

City Administrator Phil Kern said when looking at the project, it’s important to look at it as “more than the road,” and said there are a number of utilities and things of that nature also involved with the project.

Reviewing the detour route through Delano

Not far behind most road construction projects come detour routes – Delano is no different (see map for full details).

The detour is set to be in place Tuesday, April 15 through Saturday, Nov. 15. The detour route, which was established by MnDOT, has remained unchanged since 2006, when the city granted its municipal consent of the reconstruction project, Kern said in a memo to the council.

Under state law, MnDOT can establish detour routes for its projects without municipal approval, but Kern said MnDOT has worked with the city to come up with the most effective way of detouring traffic from April through November during the project.

The planned detour will utilize four county roads that surround Delano to the east and north. Westbound traffic coming toward Delano from Independence will be detoured at the stoplight near Delano Crossings, north on County Line Road.

At the four-way stop on Wright County Road 30, traffic will be detoured west to Wright County Road 17 (River Street) south.

When travelers reach downtown Delano, they will head west again on Bridge Avenue, crossing the bridge over the Crow River, and back to Highway 12 at the stoplight near the Delano American Legion.

On the detour route, several areas of concern have been pointed out. One such area is on Wright County Road 30 near the school entrance at Tiger Drive. Kern said the contract for construction requires the contractor to hire traffic control at Tiger Drive during construction hours.

Most likely, this will involve a uniformed sheriff’s deputy at the intersection, directing traffic in the morning and afternoon.

Concerns have also been brought forward about the intersection of Elm Avenue and Country Lane off of County Line Road.

Both of these residential roads intersect with County Line Road, but there are no turn lanes or shoulders to accommodate turning vehicles. Kern said both roads could be used as shortcuts to the detour route by travelers looking for a quicker, more direct route through the city.

Because of these concerns, the city had previously included a closure of both intersections in the plans for the detour route.

Detouring the detour

Anyone traveling on County Line Road in Delano knows the railroad crossing could use some attention.

Kern said that MnDOT also has a concern about the crossing, and how it will withstand the increased number of vehicles passing over it when the detour is in place for seven months.

Kern said the railroad has scheduled improvements on the crossing in the summer of 2008, and has been unreceptive of the idea of bumping the project up so it wouldn’t affect the detour route.

To improve the railroad crossing means shutting down the road for three to five days while repairs are made, resulting in a “detour the detour route,” Kern said.

Originally, MnDOT proposed using Ninth Street to Elm Avenue for this time period, however city staff had concerns about this plan. Now, MnDOT has a plan in place for a temporary detour using Hennepin County Roads 11 and 92 in Independence.

MnDOT’s project engineer, Terry Humbolt told Kern this is the likely alternate detour route for when it comes time to fix the railroad crossing.

Cooperative agreement between state and city approved for the project

As a part of its cooperative agreement with MnDOT for the project, the council also took a look at what the city will be responsible for throughout the project.

In a memo to the city council, Kern explained the city uses Highway 12 right of way and areas beneath the highway for its public utilities. Because of this, as the state rebuilds the roadway, the city is using this opportunity to reconstruct sewer and water infrastructure, as well.

MnDOT has agreed to lump all of the costs under its roadway contract, but has broken out the costs relative to the city’s improvements.

The city also requested that MnDOT include the construction of Ninth Street South in the project, along with a new stoplight at the intersection of Highway 12 and Ninth Street.

Estimated costs of the project for specific things include:

• Streets/lighting/etc. $133,805

• Ninth Street $696,320

• Delano Municipal Utilities watermain improvements $1,162,646

• Sewer improvements $420,005

• Right of way costs (land) $200,000

The agreement between the city and state says the total of these costs ($2,612,766) will be due to MnDOT.

State’s funding policies require that a majority of the funding ($2,412,776) be paid by the city in advance of the project.

Out of the above-mentioned projects, the city pays for different portions in different ways.

From its capital improvement budget, the city will pay for lighting and land costs, totaling $333,805. Finance director Brian Bloch explained at the meeting that the city has a balance of $1.4 million in its capital improvement fund.

He said the city budgeted higher because of anticipated costs for the west side lift station that MnDOT is building with the project. MnDOT is assuming 100 percent of the construction costs, and will turn over operations and general maintenance upon completion.

Bloch said other costs are likely to come up that will also come out of the capital improvement fund, including floodplain grading and improvements, signage and landscaping, construction change orders, “soft costs” and communication issues.

Funding for the extension of Ninth Street South ($696,320) will be done with municipal state aid funding, which means the city will pay for it upfront with a bond, and be paid back in time from the state.

Funding for the sewer improvements, estimated at $420,005, will come out of the sewer fund.

Delano Municipal Utilities (DMU) will be responsible for its watermain improvements in the amount of $1,162,646.

The council passed a resolution of intent to bond, which means the authority is there should the city decide to bond for any part of the project.

At a meeting, the council decided to go ahead and bond for the Ninth Street South portion of it.

Contractor named in early March

In early March, MnDOT officially awarded the Highway 12 construction contract to Park Construction, a regional construction company out of Minneapolis.

Park Construction, and its project manager, Joe Maloney, have already spent considerable time in Delano examining the project and discussing the likely phasing.

Its first order of business will be to set up the detour route, meaning the construction and installation of temporary signals, traffic control signage, and making any necessary construction changes to the local roadways.

One of these changes will be modifying the intersection of Bridge Avenue and River Street in Delano in order to allow truck traffic maneuvering. This modification will remove and reconstruct curbing and roadway surfaces.

Once the detour route is set up, it is expected that Park will begin significant work on Highway 12, possibly as early as the second week of April.

Preliminary estimates established the start of the detour around April 15, but the city now believes that date could be pushed up by as much as a week.

On Thursday, March 20, Park Construction and MnDOT will have a pre-construction meeting. At this meeting, Park and MnDOT will discuss project schedules, timelines for construction, and the communication process during construction.

After this meeting, the city will be able to provide much more in terms of construction details and anticipated schedule.

One likely outcome of the pre-construction meeting will be the establishment of a weekly construction meeting throughout the reconstruction process. The city will be an active participant in all of these discussions, and will likely follow each weekly construction meeting with an open public meeting for anyone to attend. An announcement regarding these weekly meetings will be coming soon.

Delano is “Open for Business”

The Delano Area Chamber of Commerce initiated a Highway 12 Task Force, charged with the goal of assisting the business community through the course of reconstruction. The task force has met as a unified group, with additional subcommittees meeting as needed.

The task force has established the slogan of “Delano is Open for Business,” which it will use on signage, advertisements, and other materials through the construction period.

The task force has several objectives in terms of business support. First, it is driving a signage campaign to alert those coming to Delano that businesses on the Highway 12 corridor are open and accessible during construction.

Second, it is producing materials for distribution by businesses and in the local newspapers to show area residents how to get around Delano during construction. Lastly, the task force is working with the city to address safety and access issues that it anticipates with the detour process.