A meeting will be taking place Wednesday at the Orono Discovery Center
at 4 p.m. for upcoming construction planned in the area of Highway 12
this year.
The meeting will allow residents and business owners the opportunity
to speak with Minnesota Department of Transportation officials about
the upcoming railroad bridge project, closure of Highway 12 and
subsequent detour.
The $7 million project is set to replace the existing Burlington
Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railroad Bridge and reconstruct one-mile of
Hwy 12 between Hennepin County Road 90 in Independence and Hennepin
County Road 83 in Maple Plain.
The existing bridge does not meet minimum standard height requirements
over the highway and the design of the existing bridge and the current
roadway layout limits the sight distance on Highway 12.
Construction of the new bridge will provide the necessary vertical
clearance and improve the sight distance through the bridge corridor.
The new roadway will provide 12-foot lanes, 10-foot shoulders and left
and right turn lanes to existing businesses.
A detour will go into effect Thursday, April 1, and remain in place
though mid-October 2010.
The detour for Highway 12 is Hennepin County Road 90 to Hennepin
County Road 6 to Highway 12.
As part of this detour, three temporary signals will be installed at
the intersections of County Road 90/ County Road 6, County Road
83/County Road 6 and County Road 19/County Road 6.
Access to the city of Maple Plain and Maple Plain businesses via
County Roads 83 and 19 and Highway 12 for westbound commuters, will
remain open throughout construction.