A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
About 75 area residents attended a public input meeting about a long-awaited Highway 73 project last Wednesday at the Cromwell Pavilion. John Gran, right, let his T-shirt do some of the talking for him. It read: "Insist on doing things right."
About 75 people showed up at the Cromwell Pavilion April 12 to support the reconstruction of Minnesota Highway 73 south of Cromwell. Users of the road were invited by a survey group from the Minnesota Department of Transportation to find out what problems exist in the corridor from Kettle River to Cromwell.
"It is easy to describe," local trucker and farmer Pat Messer said. "The road is not wide enough, there are no shoulders, the swamp road sections are too low and the high ground hills hamper visibility."
A survey, which is available online at the MnDOT site, was filled out by everyone attending. Doug Suhonen, Lakeview Township clerk and member of the Highway 73 Action Committee, asked the crowd attending to express their priorities for road upgrades verbally, on the survey, or by making notations on an online corridor map.
Some in the crowd wondered out loud if ranking the problems with the highway was useful since there is a great need for improvement in so many areas.
Common complaints about the highway are narrow shoulders, sharp curves, steep hills, blind intersections, and low areas prone to flooding.
Mike Peterson, former mainstay for Cromwell-Wright Fire and Ambulance, said everyone should look to the future and not dwell on perceived injustices of the past that have left the road in such disrepair. He said the message has to be clear on what is needed so the state can find the money to pay for any reconstruction.
The study is expected to cost $520,000 and will form the basis of a plan for upgrades using federal and state money.
MnDOT reports that it plans to:
• Perform a safety analysis along the corridor.
• Engage local partners, organizations and community members to gather feedback on existing roadway issues and develop potential corridor alternatives and cost estimates that address the issues and concerns identified by community members and the traffic analysis.
• Identify environmental impacts for each alternative.
• Identify potential improvement projects that match the needs of the corridor with available funding.
The recent freeze-thaw cycle of weather has created water hazards in several areas on the highway. A woman lost control of her car in one water-covered area, crashing into a ditch. More than one culvert along the corridor failed during the past week of flooding.
Carlton County commissioner Gary Peterson and Highway 73 Action Committee chairman Dan Reed testified for road funding at a Senate hearing in St. Paul on Monday, April 17. Testimony was submitted that the highway is a major avenue of commerce and the poor condition of the roadbed impedes local economic development and the very survival of adjacent communities.
There is no funding set aside for any work on the highway right now. MnDOT plans to offer a series of reconstruction scenarios later this year with another public meeting.
