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EDINBROOK CROSSING TEL :612-424-1174 Jan 15 '96 17 :08 No .051 P .03/03,
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<br /> SAINT PAtUI.PIONEER PRESS C 3C
<br /> MINNEAPOLIS/SUBURBAN EDITOR:Don Wyatt • -- -
<br /> FAX:( 2) 3 SUBURBS •
<br /> { FAX:(612}228-5500
<br /> Toll road proposed to link I-35W arid
<br /> 1-94
<br /> a Drivers' dilemma: Proposed toll road to of toil roads,"says Bob Winter,an "The council has not taken
<br /> Walt state or eonn>.et 135W and G9s assistant division engineer with formal position on this, but I es
<br /> • the Transportation Department. tell you, we're not for it," say
<br /> pay fees-for-use? A "The advantage Is it gets pro• Cathy Aennctt,
<br /> CACI FRIDLEY -st M • jects constructed sooner than it The state already has ear
<br /> BLAME MQRRISGN 6rrsFwsarra +a, $ rwould otherwise," he says. The marked about ;123 million tt
<br /> f( ta} d - Transportation Department would complete about thre=e-quarters o:
<br /> Cq��"� y - be able to get the projects done the link(from I.35W to Minnesota
<br /> 1ROOIfG'N •.�A !7 ,r S eventually, he said, but with the 189).
<br /> In Philip Seipp IF
<br /> YOU Co k PARI( �r/ 6 , toll proposals,they would get built Robert Zauner, who heads the
<br /> figured his A public , , �•
<br /> food distris information <"% - psi quite a few years sooner — 10 or firm proposing the North Cross
<br /> b u t o r ship meeting about l j� more." town toll road,saysthat by part.
<br /> e North vi 1 E ! E S • •4, Currently,Minnesota has no toil tering with his firm, the slats
<br /> had found til: t roads, and onlytwo private toll would save Itself about 1120 J.
<br /> Crosstown I t� ! `'d
<br /> the ideal 10- �( ,+"w bridges:one in South St.Paul near lion,get a better highway that in•
<br /> Parkway is • YIitBIW� r I N B Y
<br /> cation sarkwuteA for l p ,l , the Ashland Oil refinery, and one eludes a new Mississippi Rivet
<br /> Just off Jan.22 at 7 p.m.
<br /> Far \ in Moorhead, bridge and be able to finance nth•
<br /> Interstate BROOAl17f ` But since the passage of legisla- er road improvements e
<br /> 35 W at in the mount,.Hall CENTER tion in 1993 encouraging the
<br /> View City 8' According to Zauner
<br /> County Road council s� g N Transportation Department to ex• the North Crnaatown t
<br /> J in Mounds chambers.State plore other ways to finance road about ;281 million. Th to
<br /> View, Sysco Transportation 'arca of detail © ® is lnlprevementa,officials have been would pay about $82 million.and
<br /> Food Bessie- ����,•�•-,•—�,:- ., talking about working with private the rest would be financed by the
<br /> Department l firms to construct thepay-as-you-
<br /> es and its officials will m © Minnesota Transportation Group
<br /> fleet of 100
<br /> answer questions •� ID s • go roads to relieve traffic conges- and through bonds.
<br /> tractor-trail- and describe Neu tion and funding headaches.
<br /> era would project To date, five Lave been pro- A portion of toll proceeds would
<br /> have o$sys r 1' f syro— go to investors,
<br /> 0o albllltlse. posed — one for trucks only
<br /> highway ac- ♦ 1
<br /> cess for truck deliveries to out- — • ����=g,+ with construction casts of about;1 Motorists who use the roads fro-
<br /> state areas. ss t:i©
<br /> billion,most of it financed by the quently would purchase a $20
<br /> And with promises bythe Min- f+i t<o ' private companies through bonds. electronic device for their'vehiclel
<br /> 3 , i -fol — ProposeA int'srehartgs Three of the projects are proposed to allow automatic billing each
<br /> re=cta Transportation Department eft M`"%r'e—..:� haat — proposed grads for roadways south of the Twin time they used the tollway. As
<br /> to link I•35W with Interstate 94 — oeoaratiion Cities, and officials from sur- cars pass through scanning laser
<br /> ' via a highway named the North rounding communities have until beams, cont uterized monitoring
<br /> Crosstown Parkway,reaching sus _ ntv tsar/remora uses late February to offer their views. devices wouldpgenerate "transac•
<br /> torners in northwestern Minnesota tion reports"to be used for billing.
<br /> and North Dakota would be easier On Jan, 22,state transportation
<br /> than ever. or officials will talk about the North of cars without arsaphs of the le plates
<br /> Now, nearly seven years later, taxpayers assmuch Baas ;ZlO costand lthe cost could bo astronomical.usinesces such as p s Crosstown project during a public would be taken,andthoseowners
<br /> Seipp still waits for the fabled lion,But if folks lend their support "But I'm also thinking of the meeting at Mounds View City would be Charged a higher toll to
<br /> North Crosstown to be completed. to a private firm's toll road pro- time, traffic and fuel costs of not llall.But no matter what officiate compensate for the costs Of the
<br /> His trucks wade Into the rush-hour poral, the North C osstown (also using it,"Seipp says. say, it appears the toll concept video imaging system.
<br /> traffic of Interstate 894 daily,talc- known as Trunk Highway 810) "It might not be a good econom- doesn't have much support north
<br /> ing a somewhat roundabout route could be done in as few as three in decision" to take the toll road, of the Turin Cities Both Zauner and Winter realise
<br /> to reach the nearly 20 percent of years, he says. "But It's possible that it The North Metra Mayors Ass°- that selling the concept to corn-
<br /> Its customers west of the Twin The rub,of course is that corn- could make some sense." ciations, which includes mayors muter= accustomed to traveling
<br /> Cities. maters would find themselves State transportation officials from Mounds View and New for free won't be easy.But Wolter
<br /> And along with others in these paying an average of$1.55 a trip agree.They consider the proposal Brighton,have gone on record op-
<br /> . says the idea is worth considering
<br /> parrs, he finds himself contem- to use the proposed 16-mile route, by the Minnesota Transportation posing any toliways. And the "It's another tool for the toot
<br /> plating the lesser of two evils, That means that for those travel- Group, a Collection of private Mounds View community develop- bag to fund these projects," be
<br /> i If the state proceeds with its ing to and front work five amen a companies, a way to build better Ment director says city officials explains. "I think the concept is
<br /> plan to connect the two interstates week, the annual toll would total highways faster and cheaper. are "philosophically opposed" to promising,but as with anything,it
<br /> 1 north of the Twin Citlee, it could about 2850, "We're in favor of the concept the notion.
<br /> P comes with a price."
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