WADENA — The Wadena City Council met Tuesday, June 13, at City Hall and approved one of two layout designs for the Highway 10 widening project, but the final approved layout was not approved by the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Rejected.
An email from City Administrator Kim Schroeder said: Although the City felt there were no changes significant enough to warrant additional meetings with the City Council, ultimately changes along the overall project are still possible and subject to change. ”
The Highway 10 lane widening project is scheduled to begin in 2025 and will extend six miles of Highway 10 from 620th Street in Otter Tail County west of Wadena to Oink Joint Road/140th Avenue in Wadena County east of Wadena. We plan to improve it.
According to MnDOT's website, the new concept is intended to further improve access to Highway 10 and address safety concerns for travelers entering the city at high speeds from the west or east. The estimated cost of the project is $35 million.
“MnDOT may make adjustments, changes or modifications based on future discussions and negotiations between MnDOT and property owners,” Schroeder said.
Prior to the meeting, the city sent a letter to residents and business owners updating them on the status of the project. The letter praised the level of professionalism and understanding shown by businesses and property owners throughout the process. The public was encouraged to attend the meeting and contact council members and city staff to share which layouts they would like her MnDOT to submit.
Although there was no public hearing scheduled at the meeting to discuss options for the Highway 10 project design layout, Mayor Dyess did allow time for affected business owners to speak. Many business owners whose properties are directly affected by the layout decisions attended the meeting and spoke to the council.
Tom Paper of Wadena Hide and Fur appealed to the council to support version 2, layout 2, with full access between Merrikel and Wadena Hide and Fur.
“We support the idea of full access to Merikel and us (Wadena Hyde & Farr) because we have more traffic coming in,” Paper said. The best outcome is to establish multiple accesses on the highway and provide multiple access points for all businesses. I know it will take some effort to convince MnDOT, but I think it's a worthwhile effort. ”
Jason Merickel of Merickel Lumber and Ace Hardware also addressed the council. “We know you have to decide the future of the city both from a housing and business standpoint, but as we all know, nothing lasts forever, even if our family business is gone. But we know the city still wants to have attractive commercial properties.'' There's something accessible there. ”
Mayor Dyess and council members noted the challenges involved with a project of this scope and said they ultimately want what's best for the city, area residents and business owners.
“When you look at this holistically, no matter what option we choose, businesses and communities will still survive,” City Councilman Jesse Gibbs said. “There is no true right answer, and I want to thank everyone who participated and made their voices heard.”
The next City Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 11th at 5:30pm at City Hall.
Additional information about the Highway 10 widening project can be found on the MnDOT website and the City of Wadena website.
Nicole Stracek was a freelance writer for more than a decade before joining Wadena Pioneer Journal. She covers everything from city council and county board meetings to the latest news. Community Her reporter can be reached at 218-631-2561 or nstracek@wadenapj.com.
