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STAFF MEMO TO CITY COUNCIL DATE: 06121�� ITEM: 8. Department ApprovaL• Manager Reviewed: Agenda Section: Item Description: Update about street, pathwaylsidewalk, and drainage improvements to County Road B-2 Background: At the May 24 City Council meeting staff presented information to the City Council, regarding three possible alternates to construct a pathwaylsidewalk adjacent to County Road B-2 with federal funds. After reviewing the informationpresented at the meeting and the Feasibility Report, the City Council directed staffto: • Construct the trail along Coeznty Road B-2 between Lexington and the westerly City boundary as proposed. Explore an alternate west of Cleveland that routes the pathway north to County Road C and then west to Walnut Street. • Meet with Ramsey County to discuss the potential for the reconstruction of County Road B-2 between Lexington Ave and Rice in conjunction with the trail. • Meet with Federal Aid at Mn/DOT to discuss schedule and project scope. This Report summarizes additional information about this Project. Realignment of Pathway We have had an opportunity to research the feasibility of changing the alignment of the pathway between Clevelandand Walnut Street. This was at the request of CouncilmemberSchroeder. We investigated an alternate alignment that took the pathway up Cleveland to County Road C and then west to Walnut. We determined that there are 3 areas in this alignment that have significant conflict. The first is the right-of-way along Cleveland; we would have to acquire additional easements as well as relocate power poles or bury overhead power lines for most of the half mile of Cleveland between County Road B-2 and C. The second is the 35 W bridge underpass; to achieve the clearances and width necessary to meet federal design guidelines significant wark would have to be performed under the bridge near the abutments. We have estimated that this would add $250,000 to the project. Finally there are two choke points along the westerly side of C that would add cost as well as right-of-way acquisition needs to the Project. These are at the Minnesota Commercial Rail crossing and 2420 County Road C. As a result, we do not recommend any change in the approved alignment as proposed for the trail west of Lexington. Reconstruction of County Road B-2 At our meeting with Ramsey County we discussed the potential for the City to reconstruct the portion of County Road B-2 between Lexington and Rice Street. The City estimates that the reconstruction of the road to a 9-ton 32- to 34-foot wide street with an attached pathwaylsidewalk would cost $3,602,455.50 including engineering costs. We discussed the level of County financial participation in a project of this nature. The County is interested in working with us, however the level of financial participation is not ideal. We discussed the following scenarios