05.02 - Update on Hwy 371 Process by Tim Bray

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�O��NNESOTgyO Minnesota Department of Transportation 4 District 3 Tel: 218/828-5700 7694 Industrial Park Road Fax: 218/828-5814 Toll Free: 1/800/657-3971 Baxter, MN 56425-8096 January 14, 2008 The Honorable Cathy Malecha Mayor of Pequot Lakes 4638 County Road 11 Pequot Lakes, MN 56472 In reference to: Trunk Highway(TH) 371 Alternate Route Dear Mayor Malecha: Thank you for sending me a copy of Resolution 07-32 documenting Pequot Lakes' preference for the bypass option. I want to express my appreciation for all the hard work that you and the City staff have done over the last several months to make this difficult but important decision. The resolution does a very good job of providing the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT)with the clear intentions of the City Council and will allow us to proceed with a higher level of confidence. `-' Improving the section of Minnesota State Highway 371 between Nisswa and Pine River continues to be'a high priority for District 3. Fortunately in 2007 there were no recorded traffic fatalities on this 16-mile segment;however, it continues to average several severe crashes per year. Traffic volumes will continue to increase and add to already existing safety and capacity concerns. For this reason Mn/DOT continues to pursue options that will allow this section of highway to be improved as soon as the needed transportation funding becomes available. Included in these options is an objective evaluation of the Pequot Lakes bypass alignment in order to reach an acceptable solution for both the City and Mn/DOT. The local support for a bypass that you have shown bypassing Resolution 07-32 combined with Mn/DOT's ability to build a safe and lower-cost bypass alternative are the primary reasons why Mn/DOT will move forward with the development of a supplement to the existing Environmental Impact Statement(EIS.) As I have shared with you,this process has the potential of taking several months. Although our knowledge of the area and experience tells us that there are not insurmountable challenges associated with the bypass alignment,there always remains a possibility of a discovery during the supplemental EIS evaluation that could disqualify it as a feasible option. For this reason Mn/DOT will defer the final endorsement of the preferred alternate pending the outcome of the supplemental study. One of the more challenging topics typically addressed with an EIS is the social and economic impacts that our highway projects have on the involved communities. As you are aware, there has been a lot of discussion over the last year regarding what the social and An equal opportunity employer