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IV. NECESSITY AND COST-EFFECTIVENESS The purpose of the proposed Rice Street/Highway 36 interchange improvements is to address existing and future safety and operational deficiencies. The need for the project is driven by: • Anticipated increase in traffic volumes on Rice Street from 20,000 vehicles per day (existing) to 27,200 vehicles per day (2033) • Rice Street bridge over Highway 36 no longer meets current geometric standards Rice Street bridge is in poor condition and eligible for federal bridge replacement funding. • Closely spaced intersections do not comply with current Mn/DOT access management standards and cause traffic flow issues • Pedestrian facilities are not continuous across TH 36 or Rice Street ' As traffic volumes increase, safety and traffic operations will continue to deteriorate if existing deficiencies are not addressed demonstrating a need for the project. The proposed improvements will minimize future maintenance costs and the magnitude of the proposed project will ensure competitive bidding. From this standpoint, the project is cost-effective. V. EXISTING CONDITIONS Rice Street (CSAH 49) from County Road 62 south to County Road B is a minor arterial that serves as a reliever to I-35E. The road is currently athree-lane roadway design consisting of a single lane in the northbound and southbound direction with a shared left turn lane in the middle. The shared left turn lane is converted into an exclusive left tum lane on each side of cross street intersections and right turn lanes also exist at the major intersections. Traffic counts on the street range from 15,000 Average Daily Trips (ADT) to 20,100 ADT based on 2007 traffic counts and is expected to reach 27,200 ADT in 2030. The current spacing and configuration of the intersections do not comply with the current Mn/DOT access management standards and cause traffic flow issues at the current traffic volumes. These issues will only be magnified as traffic volumes increase. While pedestrian facilities exist on the west side of Rice Street for a majority of the corridor, they are not continuous over TH 36. The Rice Street bridge no longer meets current geometric standards, is in poor condition, and is eligible for federal replacement funding. VI. INFORMATIONAL MEETINGS Ramsey County has held several stakeholder meetings along with public informational meetings to provide and gather information to the public on the progress and direction of the project. More information on the meetings can be found on the Ramsey County website. -3-