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�- During these negotiations with the City of Pequot Lakes, it became increasingly difficult for the City and the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) to agree on the details of the future through -town configuration of Highway 371. Most of the discussion related to 1) implementation of required access management controls and 2) safety concerns expressed by the City related to projected traffic levels of a through -town alignment. In June 2006, the Pequot Lakes City Council adopted resolution 06 -23 in support of re- routing Highway 371 to a corridor east of town (bypass) along an alignment similar to Alternative 3 identified in the DEIS. The issues of community cohesion, pedestrian safety, high traffic speeds through the City, loss of access, congestion, and local cost participation were identified by the City in Resolution 06 -23 as their reason for objecting to Alternative 2. The Council's Resolution 06 -23 decision was in contrast to City resolution 04 -002 adopted during the DEIS phase that identified Alternative 2 (through -town alternative) as the City's preference. Concerned by the two contrasting City resolutions, Mn/DOT asked the Pequot Lakes City Council to clarify their position regarding their preferred route of Highway 371. The City Council was asked to adopt another resolution that would rescind the previous two conflicting resolutions and provide Mn/DOT with a clear understanding of the City's intentions. In January 2007, the City Council commissioned the Highway 371 Alternate Route Study Group consisting of members of the City Council and the Planning Commission. This group was established for the expressed purpose of studying the issues and impacts of a Highway 371 bypass of Pequot Lakes. The Alternative Route Study Group considered thirty -one questions in their study process that were split into six categories that included technical issues, city engineering issues, design issues, financial issues, land use planning issues, and environmental issues. This study group met ten times between February and August 2007 to hear expert testimony and receive public feedback regarding a community bypass alignment. During these proceedings, Mn/DOT participated by developing conceptual bypass alignments, providing general guidance related to highway design standards, and participating in a public forum to discuss a possible bypass alignment. Following the City - initiated study of the bypass route, the Highway 371 Alternate Route Study Group issued its final report (September, 2007) to the City Council entitled "Highway 371 Alternate Route Study Group Report." This report captured the discussion and testimony that occurred during the ten meeting sessions. The findings of the report stated "the Alternate Route Study Group identified no issues or impacts that would cause the City to alter the decision to .route Highway 371 east of downtown and, in fact, found many factors that favor an alternate alignment." Some -of these findings are described in the discussion of Alternative 3MOD below. Appendix B of the SFEIS includes a copy of the Executive Summary from the Report. A fall copy of the report (which is incorporated by reference into the SFEIS project record) is filed at the Mn/DOT District 3 Office in Baxter and at the Pequot Lakes City Hall. As Mii/DOT considered the proposal to change the preferred alternative, it was determined that in order to make such a route acceptable, the original Pequot Lakes Bypass (Alternative 3) studied during the DEIS would have to be modified to reduce cost and provide other benefits. These modifications primarily related to the elimination of three, grade - separated. interchanges and their replacement with standard at -grade intersections. TH371 Adequacy Determination Nisswa to Pine River 3 October 2010