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I. INTRODUCTION Ramsey County in coordination with the Minnesota Department of Transportation, and the cities of Maplewood, Roseville, and Little Canada are pursuing the reconstruction of Rice Street from just south of County Road B to just north of County Road B2 including the bridge and interchange system at TH 36. The project will also include the construction of an additional left turn lane from westbound County Road 62 onto southbound Rice Street. The exhibit in Appendix A shows the project location and the properties that will be affected within the City of Little Canada. II. SCOPE The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility of reconstructing the interchange of TH 36 and Rice Street and the reconstruction of Rice Street from County Road B to north of County Road B2, along with any utility improvements and/or repairs that may be needed prior to its proposed improvement. This report will include information on the existing conditions, proposed improvements, and estimated costs and property assessments as outlined in the City's Assessment Manual. The most current estimated construction costs will be provided, along with the total project costs that will include overhead costs, such as City administration, engineering, fiscal, and legal costs. III. HISTORY Trunk Highway (TH) 36 is an important statewide corridor designated as a principal arterial, high-priority interregional corridor. Rice Street (CSAH 49) is a minor arterial running along the west boundary of the City of Little Canada that serves as an important reliever to I-35E. The growth of the general area has resulted in additional traffic and development pressures in the communities along TH 36 and the various northlsouth roadways serving the trunk highway. In particular the expansion of the St. Jude Medical facilities at their Woodridge Site (County Road B) and the Lilliehie Site (County Road 62) have greatly impacted the traffic volumes and flows in this traffic corridor and interchange. This project will address the issues in and around the intersection of TH 36 and Rice Street and as far north as County Road 82. It includes the reconstruction of the Trunk Highway 36 and Rice Street interchange, and also improvements to Rice Street between County Road B2 on the north end, and County Road B on the south. The project is being led by Ramsey County but involves three Cities. The City of Roseville on the west and the Cities of Maplewood and Little Canada on the east. Currently the project is in the Preliminary Engineering and Environmental Assessment phase, which will conclude in March 2010. Six interchange concepts were reviewed and analyzed for Level Of Service (LOS) with projected 2033 traffic volumes and further reviewed for construction costs, right-of-way impacts, and other factors. The preferred alternative selected through this process was an offset single point interchange. -2-