Major Expansion in the Works For Upper 55th Street

On an average day, 5,800 cars use the roughly one-mile stretch of Upper 55th Street between Babcock Trail and Hwy. 3.

But city officials believe the traffic volume on the narrow, two-lane road will more than double in the future, to as many as 15,000 cars per day.

Which is why the city took the first step this week toward a road expansion project that could convert Upper 55th Street between Babcock and Hwy. 3 into an east-west arterial for the city’s west side. During its regular meeting, the Inver Grove Heights City Council voted 4-0 to approve a $9,950 contract with engineering firm SRF Consulting Group, Inc. Councilor Bill Klein was absent for the vote.

The firm, City Engineer Tom Kaldunski said, will be responsible for developing a preliminary conceptual design for the reconstructed street, which the city may expand into a three- or four-lane road. The consultants will also help the city identify a cost estimate for the project and secure federal funding to reconstruct the street. While Kaldunski doesn’t expect to break ground on the proposed project until 2017, the preliminary conceptual design for the road should be complete by early this fall, he said.

 The winding, narrow road faces a host of problems that make it a “high priority” for reconstruction, Kaldunski said. Riddled with cracks and potholes, the street has a ‘poor’ ranking in the city’s pavement management plan. A number of residential driveways open directly onto the 35 mph street, which is a potential hazard for drivers, Kaldunski said. To make matters worse, Upper 55th Street between Babcock and Hwy. 3 doesn’t have any turn lanes—which adds to the potential risks drivers face on the road, Kaldunski said. The city's comprehensive plan also identifies the street as a priority for reconstruction.

 “Whenever you have concentrations of driveways along rural roads, especially at higher [traffic] volumes, you always have conflicts of turning movements,” Kaldunski said.

Finally, Kaldunski said, the gravel shoulders of the road suffer from erosion, and the lack of a storm sewer system along the street means runoff from the road empties directly into a nearby lake. The street also needs a pedestrian trail, Kaldunski added.

The city selected SRF Consulting from a pool of potential consultants compiled through a Request For Proposal process conducted at the beginning of the year, Kaldunski said. The firm also has experience helping municipalities obtain federal funding for construction projects, the city engineer added.

The SRF website claims the firm has an extensive background in traffic studies and transportation planning for developing communities. The firm focuses on "involving project stakeholders, creatively addressing complex and leading-edge issues, and developing realistic implementation strategies," the website said.

In the course of its work, the firm will evaluate traffic counts, sight lines and turning movements vehicles take on the road. SRF will also evaluate water quality conditions in the area, and identify potential locations for stormwater retention ponds, Kaldunski said.

“It’s going to be a very expensive project to complete, based on the potential expansion of the street, drainage requirements or quality requirments for storm sewer, potentially adding a trail," Public Works Director Scott Thureen said of the planned street reconstruction. "So we’re looking at what we could do for options for funding the potential for getting the project to be eligible for federal funding.”