06-09-2004 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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Department of Public Works Kenneth G. Haider, P.E., Director and County Engineer ADMINISTRATION/LAND SURVEY 50 West Kellogg Blvd., Suite 910 St. Paul, MN 55102 • (651) 266 -2600 • Fax 266 -2615 E -mail: Public.Works @co.ramsey.mn.us March 17, 2004 Mark Weavers Gervais Lake Association 789 Carla Lane Little Canada, MN 55109 Dear Mr. Weavers: ENGINEERING /OPERATIONS • 3377 N. Rice Street Shoreview, MN 55126 (651) 484 -9104 • Fax 482 -5232 Thank you for copying me on your Letter to Cliff Aichinger dated March 11, 2004. Your letter is very thoughtful and touches on several important topics related to the proposed West Vadnais outlet project, some of which we discussed at the February 26 meeting with several Gervais Lake Association members, as well as representatives of the City and Watershed District. In this letter, I would like to provide a written record of the project proposal from the County's perspective, as the project's sponsor. There are three main reasons for the proposed West Vadnais outlet project. These are to: > Prevent flooding of Rice Street and protect road base material from prolonged saturation, which decreases the road's stability and accelerates deterioration of the travel surface and shoulders. > Prevent flooding of the St. Paul Regional Water Services pumping station at Vadnais Lake. > Restore the historic drainage flow path, which was eliminated by construction of I -694. MnDOT's `Unweave the Weave' project on I -694 provides a unique opportunity to address these problems as part of a much larger project, while minimizing the project's cost and impact to citizens. From the County's perspective, the project is necessary to protect the traffic flow and physical structure of a vital arterial roadway within our road system. During conditions of high water levels in nearby lakes and wetlands in recent years, the vertical elevation of West Vadnais Lake approached within 0.5 feet of the Rice St. travel lanes. Road base material within 2.5 vertical feet of the road surface has been saturated with water for prolonged periods, reducing the road's strength and promoting erosion of road shoulder material. The portion of Rice St. most affected is near the north end of West Vadnais Lake, immediately south of the overhead railroad bridge. Rice St. Minnesota's First ar 1 2 Rule County printed on recycled paper with a mnnnm,, m mm posLeonsumer content