Two road improvement options with two vastly different estimated costs for Pequot Lakes were reviewed at the council’s Tuesday, Nov. 2, regular meeting.
Saying Route A is “route no,” Mayor Tyler Gardner said he prefers the county standard of Option B outlined in a cooperative road study of four roads that travel through four area communities.
The roads and jurisdictions they travel through are:
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Pequot Lakes: Akerson, Nelson, Wild Acres.
Breezy Point: Buschmann.
Ideal Township: Wild Acres, Nelson and Buschmann.
Jenkins Township: Wild Acres.
The goal of the road study was to Identify issues along the corridor and solutions for safety. The idea is to use the road corridor to connect to County Roads 16 and 112 in the west and to County Road 11 in the east.
Jacob Bongard, of Bolton & Menk engineering firm, presented two options:
Option A: A straight corridor from Akerson to Buschmann.
Option B: Buschmann west to Nelson north to Wild Acres west to County Road 16.
Both alternatives are 4.5 miles long and connect regional roadways.
Total estimated costs range from $9,670 to $22,245 for option A and $8,380 to $15,375 for Option B. Cost estimates depend on whether the corridor would be built to local, state aid or county standards.
Total estimated cost by jurisdiction for Option A (Akerson and Buschmann roads) were:
Breezy Point: $4,090 (local standard) to $7,415,000 (county standard).
Pequot Lakes: $4,640,000 (local standard) to $13,050,000 (county standard).
Ideal Township: $940,000 (local standard) to $1,780,000 (county standard).
Jenkins Township: $0.
Total estimated cost by jurisdiction for Option B (Buschmann to Nelson to Wild Acres) were:
Breezy Point: $4,090,000 (local standard) to $7,415,000 (county standard).
Pequot Lakes: $1,775,000 (local standard) to $3,030,000 (county standard).
Ideal Township: $2,085,000 (local standard) to $3,820,000 (county standard).
Jenkins Township: $430,000 (local standard) to $1,110,000 (county standard).
The council - minus council member Cheri Seils, who was absent Nov. 2 - agreed to further look into Option B and disregard Option A, which is much more expensive for the city.
Council member Scott Pederson asked about the cost to simply fix the roads, which isn’t known.
The idea to build the roads to a county standard would be so jurisdictions could then turn the road corridor over to Crow Wing County.
Bongard said the other three jurisdictions also will receive the study information. He said the next steps are to identify a recommended route and alternative, develop a preliminary layout and solidify project funding
Nancy Vogt may be reached at 218-855-5877 or nancy.vogt@pineandlakes.com. Follow her on Facebook and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/@PEJ_Nancy.
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