By Nancy Huddleston, Editor

No matter how you slice it, something’s gotta give on County Road 42.

A County Road 42 Vision and Implementation Study has laid out several options to relieve traffic congestion on the busy east-west corridor, but makes a stark observation: “At this point in the study, we have completed our Year 2030 traffic projections and analysis, and it is apparent that County Highway 42 will operate poorly if portions are not expanded to six lanes in the future.”

Scott County Traffic Engineer Joe Gustafson acknowledges there are no easy answers. “We’re just laying out alternatives now and, when we first started, there was skepticism as to if six lanes was even possible,” he said. “We really don’t know if six lanes is the answer because it will be very expensive.”

Scott County Traffic Engineer Joe Gustafson talked to residents interested in driveway access onto CR 42.

So the county must weigh if the expense of expanding CR 42 between Glendale Road in Savage and County Road 21 in Prior Lake is worth not doing anything, Gustafson explained.

If the road is expanded to six lanes, an extra 40 feet of right of way will be needed. At this point, it looks like most of that will come from the north side of the road, Gustafson said. That’s because the south side is more developed and also includes a city sewer lift station and power lines – which are not cheap to move.

What’s more, the county must take into account two CR 42 projects already on the books. The segment 8 project gets under way next month and spans from County Road 5 in Burnsville to Glendale Road in Savage. That project calls for intersection improvements and an expansion of traffic lanes from four to six.

Also, in 2011, the county is due to upgrade another section of 42, from Boone Avenue to Louisiana Avenue, which includes major intersection work at TH 13 and CR 42 and has a six-lane layout.

“So the placement of lanes in those two projects affects this one,” Gustafson explained.

At a June 27 open house at Savage City Hall, residents living on County Road 42 milled in and out, asking questions and looking at displays. The main concerns were driveway access and how much right of way might be taken for future projects.

The options

Large display boards laid out some options: No build, transit, improving parallel roads, four-lane enhancements and six-lane expansion.

The “no build” alternative suggests that the only improvements should be the ones already on the books – the Segment 8 project at the east end and the TH 13 stretch on the west end.

The “transit” alternative assumes no new improvements to CR 42 and instead suggests increased transit services that would be supported by another park-and-ride lot and a signal priority system for buses.

Improving the surrounding roads that are parallel to CR 42 is an option to get local traffic off the main drag to relieve congestion.

Enhancing the four-lane design suggests adding turn lanes at key intersections – defined as CR 21, CR 18, CR 27, Ottawa Avenue and Glendale Avenue – to improve operations, but does not suggest adding any more through lanes.

And the six-lane expansion option suggests improving key intersections at CR 21, CR 18, CR 27, Ottawa Avenue and Glendale Avenue and adding an additional through lane in each direction between Glendale Avenue and CR 21.

The study points out improvements are needed to relieve congestion, which is already a problem. A 2006 traffic study shows average speeds on CR 42 between Quebec and Glendale avenues is 31 mph and, between CR 21 and Rutgers Avenue, is 36 mph. The posted speed limit is 40 to 50 mph.

If nothing is done to relieve congestion, the study suggests that, by 2030, the average speed between Quebec and Glendale avenues will be 21 mph and will be 32 mph between CR 21 and Rutgers Avenue.

At this point in the study, the conclusions being drawn are that “expanding the highway would affect adjacent properties and increase crossing distances for pedestrians. However, not expanding the highway would be expected to result in frequent congestion, increased neighborhood cut-through traffic and higher crash rates. Other options, such as increased transit or expanding cross-street approaches to improve traffic signal efficiency are also being considered, but have limited impact on the predicted congestion.”

What’s next?

Selection of a preferred alternative and adoption of a final study report is anticipated by this fall.

By the end of the study process, it is expected that the plan will provide guidance for planning the future of CR 42 – how it should be designed, what areas should be preserved for expansion and what projects should be implemented in the future.

Information on the project can be viewed at the Scott County Web site: www.co.scott.mn.us/42study.

 Nancy Huddleston can be reached at editor@savagepacer.com. 

What do you think?

How should CR 42 be improved? Will it be possible to improve traffic flow while minimizing the impact to adjacent property owners? Sign up as a registered user and post your comments at the end of the story.