To view the presentation made to the county board earlier this month, open attachment below.  

By Shannon Fiecke

If you’ve ever been hung up by the series of stoplights near the Cedar Avenue and County Road 42 intersection in Apple Valley, you’ll understand why Scott County is planning ahead for a future major corridor.

It’ll likely be decades before full-scale development occurs along the Highway 13/County Road 17 corridor, which cuts the county in half, running from the southern border up through Shakopee. But transportation engineers are planning now so residents can traverse the heart of Scott County with ease, whether heading from New Prague up to Prior Lake or southern Shakopee to Chanhassen.

The county commissioned a major study to chart the future course of this corridor, enabling the county to preserve right-of-way as development occurs. Started last spring, the study is nearing completion and will be presented to residents and governmental leaders at meetings over the next couple of months.

There is no other corridor between Highway 169 and Interstate Highway 35W, which provides such a continuous north-south connection, engineers from the county and consulting firm Short Elliott Hendrickson told county commissioners in a presentation Tuesday.

The corridor might even be an expressway or freeway someday, they said.

The goal is to design a road network that won’t create access points that come back to haunt engineers like Cedar Avenue has for those trying to plan for add bus rapid transit there.

The study looks at how many additional lanes are needed to serve motorists in 2030 and preserving land for expansion past that time. It identifies ideal access points and possible improvements to a number of intersections.

While much of the study lays out a conceptual framework, more detailed work has been done for a segment south of Highway 169 to be widened in 2013. This area, between St. Francis Avenue in Shakopee and County Road 42, is expected to cost $12 million per mile.

Planners recommend the following upgrades occur along the corridor before 2030 (listed here from the north to southern end):

+ Four- vs. the current two-lane river crossing leading north out of downtown Shakopee.

+ Two additional lanes north of Vierling Drive in Shakopee. There are two now, plus a central turn lane.

+ Expand from four to six lanes near the Highway 169 intersection.

+ Double the mostly two-lane area from 17th Avenue in Shakopee south to County Road 64 in Cedar Lake Township.

After 2030, the remaining southern segment of the corridor would all become four lanes.

The plan preserves the corridor as a thoroughfare by creating a strong network of reliever roads for short trips.

Planners have identified area roads that can be upgraded or connected to provide better traffic movement off the corridor.

The study addresses a more immediate plan for closing off the St. Francis Avenue intersection by the hospital in Shakopee, creating an intersection just south of there by connecting two segments of Valley View Road.

Other identified intersection improvements:

+ Adding turn lanes at the County Road 78 intersection, which might require home removal.

+ Adding turn lanes at Wood Duck Trail — currently a dangerous non-signaled intersection.

+ Re-aligning the skewed angles of the County Road 42 intersection; possibly create a roundabout.

Gregg Ilkka, assistant county engineer, said planners are trying to envision the ultimate build-out— to preserve the ability to modify the corridor later on.

Planners suggest Prior Lake re-evaluate the type of land-use planned for the County Road 282 intersection so it will jive better with the future road system. Engineers want to limit the number of access points so there isn’t a flurry of traffic lights.

The study looks past 2030, with the possibility of a six-lane expressway, or even a freeway someday, and interchanges at County Road 78 and 42.

After making changes from feedback received this spring, transportation planners hope to have the study completed this summer.

A citizens’ committee as well as representatives from the cities of Prior Lake and Shakopee, the townships of Cedar Lake and Spring Lake, the Metropolitan Council and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Dakota Community are assisting with the study. Shannon Fiecke can be reached at (952) 345-6679 or sfiecke@swpub.com.

Next steps

Feb. 19: Presentation to Prior Lake City Council

Feb. 21: Presentation to Spring Lake and Cedar Lake Townships

March 11: Presentation to Shakopee City Council

April 8: Public open house