Has the drive down County Road 18 on the Savage/Shakopee border been a bit bumpy lately?

According to Scott County’s public works department, the combination of a relatively wet autumn and extended periods of bitter cold winter weather have taken a toll on County Road 18, resulting in the bumpy ride. The technical term is “a severe pavement tenting problem” – in other words, the heaving of the pavement into a tent-like shape.

“While all of our roads have been affected, we have received a multitude of calls regarding the condition of County Road 18 (north of County Road 42, affecting both Prior Lake and Savage),” said Scott County Highway Engineer Mitch Rasmussen.  

County engineers are working with the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s (MnDOT) office of research, MnDOT’s office of materials, an independent material testing company, and experts from several construction material suppliers and contractors to identify the most cost-effective solution to the problem, Rasmussen stated.

“Basically, we want to fix this problem correctly the first time, rather than have the problem return next year,” he said.  

To help correctly diagnose and remedy the problem, Scott County Public Works cut open a small area of pavement Monday (Feb. 25) to take samples of the aggregate base and subgrade soils.  Based on the results of these sample tests – and the subsequent recommendations from infrastructure experts – the county will develop a plan for fixing the situation.

So until the county arrives at a solution, the only advice engineers can give is for motorists to slow down. “Although we do apologize for this inconvenience, I want to assure the traveling public that we’re very well aware of the bad condition of this road segment,” Rasmussen said. “Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do immediately to fix the problem without wasting a lot of money.  At some point in the near term,” he continued, “We may be asking MnDOT for approval to lower the speed limit on this road; however, in the meantime, I strongly encourage people to reduce their speeds in this area voluntarily.”For more information about County Road 18 (or any other Scott County road condition), contact Mitch Rasmussen at (952) 496-8026.