1A, County Road E & CP Rail Project

Home Browse Search

Kimley-ftn ...... . . .... ... ..... ... and Associates:,Anc, Memorandum To: Kristine G iga, P.E. City of Arden Hills From: Matt Jensen, P.E. Kimley-Horn and Associates Subject: City Project No. 227-48305 Pedestrian Improvements at the County Road E Bridge over TH 51 Date: October 14, 2009 Project #: 160593000 The City hired Kimley-Horn and Associates to assist in developing an improved pedestrian crossing over TH 51 (Snelling Avenue) at County Road E. This memorandum outlines the proposed alternatives and presents an update of the alternative funding applications that have been completed to date. It also identifies the scope of work for each alternative and the differences between these alternatives. BACKGROUND The County Road E (CR E) Bridge is the only pedestrian crossing over TH 51 between Lydia Avenue in Roseville and 1-694 in Arden Hills, a distance of approximately one and a half miles. The main goal of this project is to provide for safe pedestrian movement across TH 51, providing a key link to the City trail system as identified in the City's Pathways Master Plan. In 2006, the City submitted a Municipal Agreement Funding application to widen the existing bridge deck to accommodate a 7.5-foot sidewalk. That funding application was not successful. In March 2009, the City hired Kimley-Horn to provide an evaluation of the existing CR E Bridge to determine the eligibility for replacement using State Bridge Bonding Funds. At that time, the bridge did not meet the Mn/DOT criteria for replacement. During meetings with Mn/DOT to evaluate the bridge, two alternatives were developed to provide pedestrian improvements at the site. These alternatives are: I. Modify the existing bridge. 2. Construct a separate shared -use trail bridge. The first alternative includes existing bridge modifications to consolidate the two existing narrow sidewalks into a five-foot wide sidewalk on the north side of the bridge. This alternative would not require widening of the existing bridge. The five-foot sidewalk would improve safety on the bridge; however it would not meet the criteria to be considered a shared -use path for both pedestrians and bicyclists. The second alternative would construct a new, separate twelve -foot wide shared -use pathway bridge to the north of the existing CR E Bridge.