Plymouth Makes Pitch to Senators for County Road 47 Upgrades
Members of the Senate Capital Investment Committee swung through Plymouth Wednesday morning to learn about the city’s bonding request for County Road 47.
The city would like to make $30 million worth of public safety improvements and upgrades to a four-mile stretch of County Road 47. Plymouth is seeking $20 million from the state.
The project wasn’t included in the governor’s proposed $2.7 billion dollar infrastructure package unveiled this week, but the chair of the senate bonding committee had a message for city officials about the omission.
“It doesn’t matter,” said SEn. Tom Bakk (I-Cook). “There’s a little expression at the legislature, Governor’s propose, legislatures dispose.”
This is one of more than 150 stops the Senate Bonding Committee has made over the last five weeks to learn more about the different infrastructure needs across Minnesota. In Plymouth, the goal is to make public safety improvements and pavement upgrades to a four-mile stretch of County Road 47, which was originally designed in the 1920s as a rural road.
The road was designed for tractors and the city says the winding nature of the road poses safety hazards for pedestrians and motorists. The four-mile corridor averages 20 crashes per year, according to a Hennepin County crash analysis. The most common types are angle crashes and rear-end crashes. There are not any sidewalks or trails for pedestrians, or school children who might be walking along the road to get to school.
The city wants to expand the shoulder, create trails for pedestrians, improve the sight lines for motorists, add crosswalks to the elementary school, and put in dedicated turn lanes at all intersections. City officials expect they’ll have to wait until the final days of the legislative session to see if this project, and their 20-million dollar bonding request, makes the final cut. You can learn more about the project here.
“I was very pleased with how it went. It seemed that the capital investment committee and chair Bakk was very receptive. They asked a lot of really good questions, so they were really engaged with this. I think they really walked away appreciating how unsafe this corridor is, and the need for making these improvements,” said Mayor Jeff Wosje.
Meanwhile, the Senate Bonding Committee also stopped in Brooklyn Park on Wednesday. Hennepin County is asking the state for $21-million to help build an organics processing center adjacent to the Brooklyn Park transfer station.
See also: Plymouth Makes Pitch for State Funds to Remake County Road 47
