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Details on the Highway 8 rebuild through Lindstrom are beginning to come together. Even though the bid letting for this multi-million dollar project isn't until 2011 officials were told at last week's Technical Advisory Committee meeting the finishing touches are being put on the design.

MnDOT engineers and right-of- way staff sought committee approval on things like sidewalk locations, the layout of the trail on a steep grade near the new channel, and other finer points. Committee members include Lindstrom elected officials Keith Carlson and Jim Singer, city administration, county engineer Joe Triplett, school district representative Heide Miller, a public works department staffer and the state designers and engineers.

The MnDOT team is preparing to go to Lindstrom landowners affected by acquisition or easements in mid-April.

A MnDOT official said most of the money is going to acquire easements for road widening or locating sidewalks. Only about one parcel is being entirely bought out at the NABPCO auto parts business site. A new access road using property at the Shell (formerly Corey Oil) station is also one of the larger expenses, he remarked.

City Administrator John Olinger offered to make contact with property owners where costs could be contained through donation or other means, he reminded the state to keep costs for items like tying-in future landscaping, contained. "We know we're under-funded," he commented about the highway reconstruction.

The project manager for MnDOT mentioned he hopes to have costs based on quantities prepared by end of this month. Utility coordination is next on the list, with MnDOT getting as much utility relocates done ahead of the project as possible. The state needs May and into early summer to coordinate these auxiliary projects.

County Engineer Joe triplett also asked for more information on the intersection at the Dairy Queen (Olinda Trail). He wanted to know exactly what the striping will look like, if there's room for a trail near there, how many vehicles MnDOT anticipates will que-up when the light is red.

The Hwy. 8 reconstruct layout the Technical Advisory Committee reviews in these meetings begins about at the Chisago Lakes Area Library and goes east to the middle school.

There's an access point which is now authorized only for ambulances or public safety vehicles at the library site that's being made a right-in and right-out to the highway. A new road will come off that point and go along the highway edge of the library lawn to provide access to homes behind the library that now access directly off the highway.

Olinger mentioned the city and county are designing the County Road 14 intersection rebuild, and there's nothing to share yet on that project.

The bike trail on Lake Lane (runs by the Sportsmen's Club, Grandstrand's and A Pro Pools) will cross #14 and swing in front of Arby's, along the highway, and cross atop a new bridge over the channel on its north side.

There will be a slope to the trail as it loops beneath the new bridge on both sides. Retaining walls are being used throughout the project.

The state will install a light at Olinda (D.Q. intersection).

The one-way loops fork off at about Elm and again just west of Linden St. (where the Press office is) The MnDOT design will necessitate using about half of the St. Bridget's highway parking lot as the one-way angles off to First Street (behind Holiday). The Lakeview Motel parking lot is also on top of highway right of way, so part of that lot is being used in the project as well.

Plans still call for a diagonal tunnel that will go from the east corner of the cemetery to Irene Street, for pedestrians to cross the highway. Lindstrom will need to close gravel roads at cemetery fence openings immediately next to the tunnel project. Public works staff was going to test for the ability of trucks that need to enter the cemetery, to use other entry points.

Olinger and MnDOT reps stayed behind after the meeting to do preliminary review of Holiday Station Stores' plan to reconstruct their Lindstrom site.

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