Updated: 11/25/2009 7:40 PM KSTP.com | Print |  Email
By: Becky Nahm & Susanna Song

Drivers, City Angered by Delayed Hwy 100 Repairs

For more than a decade the Minnesota Department of Transportation has marked Highway 100 in St. Louis Park a priority for repair and expansion. But construction work originally set to start in 2003 has been pushed back again.

It is now set to begin in 2015.

City officials and drivers say at least two repair projects cannot wait that long. They say the Minnetonka and Highway 7 bridges-both built in the 1930s-are old and unsafe.

Pieces of concrete have fallen off the Minnetonka bridge onto Highway 100.

"MnDOT had to close Highway 100 one time to put a netting under Minnetonka bridge to keep concrete from falling off," said St. Louis Park Mayor Jeff Jacobs. "Bridges that are that old need to be replaced."

Jacobs said, besides delaying the project, MnDOT has also scaled it back.

In 2007, MnDOT added a third temporary lane in order to ease traffic congestion. Now transportation officials are wondering if that fix might suffice.

Jacobs said, "Our understanding always was the additional lane in 2007 was a temporary fix not the full solution."

Another problem is funding. MnDOT said the state has only $60 million set aside for the project. It was originally slated to cost $120 million.

MnDOT said it needs to reassess how the money will be used.

City officials said they don't know how a reassessment will affect the plans.

The city also blames the delays for the increase in traffic accidents on Highways 7 and 100. Vehicles can't merge on to Highway 100 from Highway 7.