As the City of Northfield continues to prioritize safer roads for all modes of transportation, a study of Trunk Highway 246 has been underway to look at improvements that could be made running from Woodley Street at Highway 3 to Division Street, and then running south to County Road 81 and possibly beyond.
While the highway is owned and maintained by the state, the idea of a turnback, turning over ownership and responsibility of the road to either the city or, possibly, Rice County, has been discussed on and off over the years.
The city has become frustrated with the lack of resources the state has allocated to maintenance on the road. Sections of the road are falling apart, and the state does not seem to have any current plans to update it, or even fix the worst parts. There are also growing concerns about the safety of the road, illustrated by two accidents between Jefferson Parkway and the Northfield Middle school within a 48-hour period of time last week.
The study is for the city to evaluate the road’s condition, understand what would need to be done to bring the road up to the city’s standards, and to see conceptual plans for improvements that could be made there.
Last week the Northfield city council heard an update on the study and was shown two separate concepts for upgrades. The first concept would create a median at the far end of Woodley Street, sidewalks on the south side of the street up to Division Street, and a bike lane on the North side. An Enhanced bike lane would be constructed on the west side of the highway between Woodley and the high school, a traffic signal would be installed at the entrance to the high school, several enhanced crossings would be installed, and a compact roundabout would be built at the 246, County Road 81 intersection.
The second concept would add several more compact roundabouts, more enhanced crossings and an expanded version of the median through the length of Woodley and onto Division Street.
For either plan to be implemented, the state would have to turn the road over to the city, as the MnDot criteria for roundabouts and traffic signals would not support many of the spots where the city would like to build them.
The concept drawings have been posted to the city’s website, where they will remain for the public to view and offer commentary on the concepts. Those drawings will be available through October 15th.
Mill Towns Trail progress being made after decades of work
Meanwhile, next week, the City of Northfield will host a public celebration of the Mill Towns Trail and the work done by members of the City Council and city staff to secure the necessary funding to build the section that will run through Northfield.
The Mill Towns State Trail is a 25-mile, multi-use state recreational paved trail under development between the communities of Faribault, Dundas, Northfield, Waterford, Randolph, and Cannon Falls. When completed, it will extend across southern Minnesota, connecting the Sakatah Singing Hills Trail in Faribault and the western end of the Cannon Valley Trail in Cannon Falls, and will provide more than 80 miles of continuous travel from Mankato to Red Wing.
The $2.58 billion bonding bill that was passed by the Minnesota Legislature for infrastructure projects last spring included $8 million requested by the City of Northfield. The money will be used for land acquisition, predesign, design, and construction of the trail section that will run between Riverside Park in Northfield and the Waterford Historic Bridge in Waterford Township.
During the event next week, staff and officials will give a brief overview of the funding and next steps in construction.
The Mill Towns Trail Celebration is scheduled for October 5 at 1 pm in Spring Creek Park. For more information, visit the city website at northfieldmn.gov.
School board will meet tonight
The Northfield School Board will meet tonight in the boardroom of the Northfield School District office building.
Among the items on tonight’s agenda will be a discussion of the district’s proposed property tax levy for 2024, and Superintendent of Schools Matt Hillmann will give an overview of the State of the District address he intends to deliver later this week.
The School Board will always invite public comments from those who live in the Northfield School District. Time for those comments is scheduled at the beginning of each meeting. Registration is required to address the School Board, and those wishing to do so may sign up beginning at 5:30 pm.
Tonight’s meeting will begin at 6:00.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
