ROCOG directs funds toward Elton Hills bridge reconstruction, Chester Woods Trail extension
Two Rochester construction projects will receive a funding boost from the Rochester-Olmsted Council of Governments (ROCOG), after the board’s originally selected project was pushed back. The new plans were approved at ROCOG’s regular monthly meeting, held Wednesday afternoon.
$1.41 million was officially set aside for the reconstruction of the Elton Hills Drive bridge over the Zumbro River, just west of the Rochester Recreation Center. According to the meeting’s agenda packet, “reinforcement failure in the pier caps and pile corrosion occurring at each abutment” have caused the city to close two of the four lanes on the bridge. In December, a MnDOT analysis report on the bridge found it to be “functionally obsolete,” thanks to the reduced lanes.
$960,000 will also go to funding the extension (shown above) of the Chester Woods Trail, in the hopes of eventually connecting Chester Woods Park to Rochester via trail. For now, the proposed extension would run from Eastwood Golf Course to 50th Avenue Southeast.
Initially, the entire $2.37 million allotment was slated to go toward reconstructing the section of Second Street Southwest directly in front of St. Marys Hospital; after several delays in the process, ROCOG was forced to find other projects before the federal funds left their hands. (The city now plans to reconstruct that portion of Second Street at the same time downtown circulator improvements are made.)
ROCOG transportation planning coordinator Dave Pesch said it was imperative for the new proposals to be approved quickly if the city and county wanted to take advantage of the funds. (Funding awarded by ROCOG can’t roll forward into future years.)
“If this money doesn’t go to the city, it doesn’t just stay here,” said Pesch. “That money goes away.”
The Elton Hills project still needs an additional $2.3 million in funding (from the city and/or bridge bonds from the state), while the Chester Woods project needs just about $600,000 in local funding.
Transit Talk
Assistant City Administrator Aaron Parrish was also at the meeting to give a presentation on the future of Rochester’s rapid transit circulator, which we have reported on extensively. One of the main next steps in the process, according to Parrish, is to figure out the exact location of station along the circulator routes.
“We have to define where these stations are going to be,” said Parrish. “Currently, we have twelve or thirteen identified - we need to get that down to eight or nine.”
As plans are finalized for the circulator, Council Member Nick Campion noted the work still left to go on other transportation projects, like added park-and-ride lots on the city’s edge (notably the plan for a lot near 75th Street Northwest ).
“There’s no intention to step back from park and ride,” said Campion. “We want to continue to lean into that system… It's important to make sure we don’t lose sight of the goal here and don’t think there’s a silver bullet here. This is just one of many approaches we’re taking.”
Isaac Jahns is a Rochester native and a 2019 graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism. He reports on politics, business and music for Med City Beat.
