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Home My WebLink About3.a. Mississippi River Trail (MRRT) – Rosemount Segment Project Update; ENG 0152 ROSE1 \43LINJ!TEXECUTIVE SUMMARY t. v i CITY COUNCIL 1 1 City Council Meeting: December 6, 2011 l , AGENDA ITEM: Mississippi River Trail (MRRT) — AGENDA SECTION: Rosemount Segment Project Update; presentations ENG 0152 PREPARED BY: Andr J Brother, PE, Director . ublic Work /City Engineer ` ► AGENDA NO . .a. ATTACHMENTS: Memorandum; Maps " APPROVED BY: , RECOMMENDED ACTION: None i BACKGROUND: j Dakota County is currently w orking on the development of final plans for the construction of the Rosemount Segment of the Mississippi River Trail project beginning in 2012. The attack ed memorandum from Morgan Dawley, WSB & Associates, Inc. provides an overview of the project scope and status. This item was presented to Council at the November 7, 2011 Council Work Session. At that meeting, Council requested that the project update be presented at a regular City Council meeting. I 1 , Again, Bruce Blair, Facility Development and Natural Resources Manager with Dakota County, and Tanya Gytri, Project Engineer with WSB & Associates, Inc: will be in attendance at the meeting to provide I . Council with an update on the project design and status. 3 k f q f i + E r 1 G:AENGPROJ \ENG 0152 Mississippi River Trail \20111206 CC MRRT presentation.docx . 1 WSB S - Engineering o Planning a Environmental a Construction 701 Xenia Avenue South d3 Associate , Inc. Suite 300 Minneapolis, MN 55416 Tel: 763-54 -4800 Fax: 763 -541 -1700 Memorandum I To: Andy Brotzler, PE, Director of Public Works /City Engineer Dan Schultz, Director of Parks and Recreation City of Rosimount a Cc: Bruce Blair, <Facility Development and Natural Resources Manager Dakota County Parks and Open Space From: Morgan Dawley, PE, Project Manager WSB & Associates, Inc. • Date: November 2, 2011 Re: Mississippi Regional River Trail — Rosemount Segment Rosemount City Council Work Session ProjectRevieiv and Update • WSB Project No. 1728 -03 The following information is intended to provide an overview of the Dakota County Parks and Open Space's Mississippi River Regional Trail (MRRT) project, and specifically improvements planned within the City,of Rosemount for construction in 2012. The MRRT Rosemount Segment, from 117th to Spring Lake Park Reserve, is a 3.8 -mile section of the planned overall MRRT 27 -mile route from South St. Paul to Hastings' downtown riverfront. One segment from South St. Paul to Inver Grove Heights has been comple:ed and is currently open for use, and the remaining planned segments are currently in varying stages of planning or design and are scheduled to be constructed in 2012 and 2013 (see attached MRRT Development Map) which will complete the Mississippi. River Regional Trail from Scuth St. Paul to Hastings in 2014. The MRRT Rosemount Segment will begin at the Rosemount/Inver Grove Heights bcrder at 117th Street just south of the trailhead planned with the MN Department of Natural Resources on l the new Pine Bend Buffs Scientific and Natural Area and will connect to the MRRT Fine Bend Bluffs Segment. From this point, the trail will follow the western edge of Flint Hills property that is east of Hwy 52 and overlook the river valley southeast to Spring Lake Park Reserve (SLPR), generally following the roadway corridor of Pine Bend Trail. Once in SLPR the trail will connect to an existing picnic /parking facility near the archery range. Highlights of this section include long river views with potential for scenic overlooks. 'The trail also wi I create an opportunity for Flint Hills Resources and Friends of the Mississippi to highlight signi leant restoration efforts in this area, providing a unique contrasting experience in a major irdustrial corridor. Minneapolis a St. Cloud Equal Opportunity Employer a _ G.. V1172COUNNInal),0 , 1m. utr■xtr ll0:l 1 .1.w a Mr. Andy Brotzler November 2, 2011 Page 2 This trail section provides an opportunity to create a safe facility for pedestrian "s, bicy and other non- motorized users through a currently hazardous area that requires bicyclists to ride on the shoulders of TH 52/55. Development of this trail involves constructing 3.8 miles of bituminous trail at a desired width of 10 feet. The trail will cross Pine Bend Trail in t vo locations. In the area with truck traffic generated by CF Industries, a grade- separated rossing of Pine Bend Trail through a box culvert underpass will be utilized. The trail will utilize an at- grade crossing east of CF Industries and outside of the existing trucking routes. Two :t-grade • rail crossings of existing Union Pacific Railroad lines will also be constructed in coon: ination with the project; both trail crossings of the railroad occur at low speed, low train volu l e spur track lines. As a separate project, from the Spring Lake Park Preserve parking/archer range area, the MRRT Spring Lake Segments West and East will complete the trail connect on to Hastings through Spring Lake Park Preserve. Permanent easements for the trail will •e acquired by Dakota County for the trail as part of project development for the MRRT. Segme is of the Rosemount segment trail will exist adjacent to Pine Bend Trail as a city roadway; hot ever, the MRRT will be owned and maintained by Dakota County. The attached project location map illustrates the trail alignment for the MRRT Rosemount Segment. The full MRRT will connect major bicycle - pedestrian trails in South St. Paul (MRRT South St. Paul Riverfront) and in Hastings (city park trail), as well as to downtown Rosemount is the future Rosemount Interpretive Trail Corridor, currently in planning stages. Along its oute, the MRRT will function as a backbone to connect local bikeway systems and parks in th river communities of South St. Paul, Inver Grove Heights, Rosemount, Nininger, and Hastings. The MRRT will provide a unique opportunity for visitors to travel through `a gradual trans tion from the fully developed urban environment through scenic natural areas and multi - generation family farms to the historic river community of Hastings. All the while visitors will learn abut the natural history and settlement history of the Mississippi Valley in eastern Dakota Co nty. The MRRT will also provide visitor access to the nationally significant natural and cultur 1 resources of the Mississippi River. On a broad scope, the MRRT will ultimately serve as part o the national Great River Road's Mississippi River Trail, which extends from the river's h • adwaters to the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to draw from`a national and international visito base. Mn /DOT studies of the Great River Road - Mississippi River Trail route identify the • ine Bend area as one of the most problematic bicycling stretches along the Mississippi River in the state and concluded there is no safe on -road route through southern Inver Grove Heights a . d Rosemount. When complete, the Dakota County MRRT will fill this gap. The current estimate for construction cost of the MRRT Rosemount Segment is $3.2 illion. Identified funding for the project includes federal Transportation Enhancement funds MN Legacy funds, and local Dakota County matching funds. 4 Completion of final design of the trail and easement acquisition efforts are currently nderway. FHWA and Mn /DOT approvals are anticipated in summer of 2012, with bidding and construction of the project to commence in the latter half of2012, and the trail open to users in 2013. This concludes the MRRT Rosemount Segment project overview summary. Should ou have any questions about the MRRT Rosemount segment project development process, scl edule, or detail design, please feel free to contact me anytime at 763- 287 -7173. 44174 0 4 444.4 .4141,044144,444.4 110,411 41,,