Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-10-07 Item 7C, I-694 EA ~ ~HILLS Request for Council Action Prepared By: Dept.: Council Mtg. Date: Final Action Needed By: Kristine ~GLga~~~ Engineering 8/13/07 8/13/07 Agenda Item: 7.C. Budgeted Amount: Actual Amount: Funding Source: N/A g450 General Fund 'COuiicHAction Request: Motion to authorize staff to submit comments on the Interstate 694 Environmental Assessment to Mo/DOr on behalf of the City of Arden Hills. staff to submit comments on the Interstate 694 Environmental Assessment to MnlDOT on behalf of the City of Arden Hills. x Memo/Letter: Resolution No.: Ordinance No,: Dated September 6, 2007 from Kristine Giga and Greg Haag Engineering Recommendation: Attorney Recommendation: x Other: Draft letter to MnlDOT with comments on the 1-694 EA ~ ~ EN HILLS MEMORANDUM DATE: September 6, 2007 AGENDA ITEM 7.C. TO: Mayor and City Council Michelle Wolfe, City Administrator Kristine Giga, Civil Engineer ~jul Greg Hoag, Public Works Director ~ FROM: SUBJECT: Motion to authorize staff to submit commeuts on the Interstate 694 Environmental Assessment to Mn/DOT on behalf of the City of Arden Hills. BACKGROUND The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnlDOT) is planning the reconstruction of a portion of Interstate 694 as a six-lane freeway with auxiliary lanes and reconstructing the interchanges at Interstate 35W, Trunk Highway I O/Snelling Avenue, Victoria Street and Rice Street. As a part of this process, the preparation of an Environmental Assessment (EA) is required. The EA has been completed and has been distributed to all interested parties, including the City of Arden Hills. The 30-day comment period began on August 13,2007, and ends September 12, 2007. DISCUSSION Staff utilized the newly created municipal engineering pool to select a consultant to assist the City in the review of the EA. Staff asked the three firms in the Traffic and Transportation Engineering pool to provide quotes for this review. Bolton & Menk, Inc. provided the lowest quote and was selected to complete this work. Bolton & Menk, Inc. met with City staff prior to beginning the review of the EA to understand and learn the concerns that had been heard to date from residents, staff and City Council \\Metro-inet.us\ardenhills\PR&PW\Enginccring\2007\Council_ Actions\9-10-07Memo _ EA _Review ,doc l' 9/6/2007 Page 2 members. Upon completion of the review, Bolton & Menk drafted the attached letter with comments and concerns. Chris Chromy of Bolton & Menk will be present at the City Council meeting to answer any questions. RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION Motion to authorize staff to submit comments on the Interstate 694 Environmental Assessment to MnlDOT on behalf of the City of Arden Hills. September 4, 2007 DRAFT Mark Lindeberg, Area Engineer Minnesota Department of Transportation 1500 West County Road B2, MS 050 Roseville, Mn. 55113 Re: City of Arden Hills' comments regarding 1-694: 35E-35W Environmental Assessment (EA) Dear Mr. Lindeberg, Thank you for the opportunity to review the 1-694 Environmental Assessment. The City of Arden Hills has reviewed this document and would like to enter into record with the following comments and questions. Arden Hills' statements will categorize into the following areas: I.) Traffic, 2.) Social, Economic, and Environmental, 3.) Land Use and Right of Way Impacts, and 4.) Water Resources. 1. Traffic a. From the freeway CORSIM analysis, the eastbound section 1-694 will still experience unacceptable LOS F during the PM peak hour under the 2030 Build. As this back-up is projected to impact operations past Lexington Avenue, it may also cause problems to traffic on Lexington Avenue at the 1- 694 ramps. Is there a way to rectify this by extending the fourth lane merge point further east, maybe even after the I-35E interchange? b. With the closing of the Hamline Avenue interchange access west to north and south to east, traffic will now have to use alternative routes such as Lexington AvenuelCR F or TH IO/CSAH 96 to access the same areas. How does this change the service levels at those impacted intersections that are not directly at the 1-694 system? Specially: . Lexington Avenue at CR F . Hamline Avenue at CR F . TH 10 at CSAH 96 . CSAH 96 at Hamline Avenue c. Has the Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant (TCAAP) Redevelopment site been considered in the traffic analysis. This site will add new trips to the area and there is also consideration for the need to upgrade TH 10 though the area. Is this addressed in the forecast modeling? d. The proposed access changes at TH 10 and CSAH 96 has the potential to redirect some travel demand. The cumulative effect of this change along with the change in access at 1-694 and Hamline Avenue should be evaluated. DRAfT e. It would seem probable that the existing westbound Hamline-Snelling 694 exit ramp volume will be reassigned to the Lexington Avenue exit ramp with the selected alternative. It would seem worthwhile to review the existing traffic on the Hamline-Snelling ramp and reassign this volume to Lexington A venue ramp to test the reasonableness of the 2030 forecast. f. The 2030 peak hour volumes on the 1-694 Ramps at Lexington Avenue as shown in Appendix 3, Figure 3 seem to be low compared to some existing traffic counts. Specifically, year 2003 count at the north intersection shows a volume of998 vehicles during the AM peak hour. The 2030 traffic projection shows 1,279 vehicles. This seems abnormally low considering that traffic using HamJine will now have to use Lexington, and that 27 years will have passed. Assuming a background traffic growth of 1 % per year, for 998 vehicles in 2003, results in 1,306 vehicles in 2030, higher than the year 2030 projection. If one adds to this the traffic that would have been using HamJine, and the 2030 traffic project is too low. g. The 2030 modeling seems to indicate improbable conclusions at the signalized intersections on the Lexington Ramp locations. In addition to the lower than expected volumes on the ramps in 2030, the "Build" condition indicates an improved level of service at the south ramps in the PM compared to the "No Build" condition. Does the Build scenario result in lowering the ramp volumes, or does the Build scenario include intersection improvements not shown on the geometric layout provided in the draft EA? 2. Social. Economic. and Environmental a. The analysis of social, economic and environmental impacts seems to be rather minimal across the study location, except for possibly noise. b. The nighttime decibel levels under Minnesota State Noise Standards are 55 decibels for a residential area, while the Federal level is 70 for residential areas. Arden Hills has three noise monitoring locations: . Nl: South ofI-694 between TH 10 and 1-35W . N2: South ofI-694 between TH 10 and TH 51 (near Bethel College) . N3: North ofI-694 east ofTH 10 Existing nighttime noise monitoring results indicate 62.0, 60.5 and 70.3 levels respectively for the three locations. These levels are all higher than the state level and slightly higher than the Federal level on N3. The 2030 projected noise levels at the NI and N3 locations are projected to both exceed the state and federal levels without noise barriers. While noise barriers at these locations may not meet MnlDOT's cost effectiveness criteria, the City of Arden Hills would like these to be further considered. D "''' ~...' ti'1 ~"r'. l"rt7.f' '/\}. f~ , "liil'\'r\~ 3. Land Use and Rililit ofWav a. How have right of way impacts to private property been identified? Are impacts proposed to be mitigated, so the uses remain conforming, or will variances for the potential creation of nonconforrnities be sought? This comment specifically applies to project impacts to commercial property in the southwest quadrant of 1-694 and Lexington Avenue. b. Are secondary impacts proposed that may have the potential to result in the acquisition of additional right of way to accommodate improvements to various roadways (e.g. increased traffic on County Road F and/or Lexington Avenue, resulting in expansion to those facilities outside of the existing right of way)? c. The City's Park, Trail and Open Space Plan envisions a future trail crossing of 1-694 at Old Highway NO.1 0 bridge and a future pedestrian overpass of 1-694 located outside of project area to provide continuity to the northeast part of the City. Would the proposed bridge design accommodate future plans for a trail along Old Highway No. 10? d. The City of Arden Hills requests consideration of off-street sidewalk and/or trail facilities along Harnline Avenue and TH 51 as it crosses 1-694. The City desires to provide non-motorized connectivity of residential areas, schools, parks, and civil services. 4. Water Resources a. Floodplain encroachments that occur in the final design stage need to be monitored to ensure that they are mitigated according to the City's Flood Plain ordinance and the Rice Creek Watershed's new Floodplain Alteration rule (which may require I: I compensatory replacement). b. There is mention that the Rice Creek Watershed infiltration requirements may be required, but have not been evaluated. Infiltration will likely be a requirement of the watershed for this project. c. Of the 11.67 acres of potential wetland impacts, approximately 4.28 acres would occur in Arden Hills. If project specific wetland replacement does not occur, how would the impacts affect the local drainage system? d. There are several areas shown where the proposed impact limits are outside of the existing right of way limits. There is no mention if drainage patterns will be impacted, and if so, how they would be mitigated. e. If new development is planned adjacent to the highway corridor the City may want to consider if there is potential for regional ponding to occur. We thank Mn/DOT for giving the City of Arden Hills an opportunity to comment on such an important study that will affect many of Minnesota's citizens in the future. We support this transportation system upgrade that results in livable communities. DR,AfT If you have any questions, regarding our comments, please contact me. Sincerely, Kristine Giga, PE Civil Engineer Greg Hoag Public Works Director