A vote on the proposed Riverside Drive road reconstruction project around Ahren's Hill narrowly passed during a Crow Wing County Board vote Thursday.
The board voted 3-2, with Commissioners Rachel Reabe Nystrom and Rosemary Franzen opposed, to award a $2,900 contract to Widseth Smith Nolting to prepare a project memo that will act as environmental documentation as required to receive federal funds. The county was awarded nearly $1.3 million in federal funds to reconstruct the last section of Riverside Drive, from Ahren's Hill to Wise Road. The approximately $1.6 million project is planned for 2011. Other sections of Riverside Drive were previously reconstructed. The short road section along Ahren's Hill is so expensive because of the need for a reinforced earthen slope to keep the road in place.
Highway Engineer Lyndon Robjent said the road needs to be reconstructed. The proposed project will get public input and return to the board, he said.
"I still think this is a project we need to do," Robjent said. "We need to reconstruct it. ... I'm committed to going through the public participation process required for this project and build a roadway that is the least disruptive to the environment in this area. There is no easy solution here."
Robjent said just putting an overlay on the roadway would be a temporary Band-Aid and the subsurface of the road is poor. Robjent said he firmly believes the county has the right design for the road. It will include some tree removal, he said, but the county needs to get through the environmental process federally required.
County Attorney Don Ryan stepped away from the county board table saying as a resident of the area he had a conflict of interest. Ryan, who addressed the board as a resident, said he took issue with Robjent's comment about getting through the process.
Ryan said if a rainstorm came in during the construction process dirt could be disrupted down into Gilbert Lake and homes atop the hill threatened. "That's one of the biggest concerns," Ryan said.
Franzen said she's talked to a lot of people and still has yet to hear from someone in favor of the project. Franzen said every move the board makes to move the project forward convinces people they are not being heard. Nystrom also said she had serious concerns about the project.
Commissioner Paul Thiede, who said he once survived rolling a car on that stretch of road, questioned whether voting for this WSN contract limited options. Thiede said he looked at it as exploring the ramifications.
Robjent said these projects are never easy and it's difficult to get consensus, but the traveling public who use the road are rarely heard from. Robjent said he believes the road design will be safer and will help the water quality. A critical storm could wash away the road no matter what the county does, Robjent said. If the county doesn't authorize the project the federal money will return to a regional pot.
Robjent said: "That would be a shame, honestly, to give up that kind of money."
RENEE RICHARDSON may be reached at renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5852.'
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