Douglas County Road 42/11/34
2/18/09
Supreme Court Denies Review/Road Project Moves Ahead
LCAA regrets to inform everyone that the Minnesota Supreme Court declined to accept our Petition for Review and as a result, the County does not need to complete an EIS (additional environmental study) on the Co Road 42/11/34 project. There is nothing pending to further delay the project.
The Lake Carlos Area Association Board of Directors, with the support of the Lake Boards from both Le Homme Dieu and Darling, put up a good fight. We took this matter through the courts to the end. Unfortunately, the denial of our Petition for Review exhausted our legal options.
Phase 1 of the project will start in the spring of 2009. It will start just south of Bug-A-Boo Bay and continue to the Carlos/Darling Bridge. The Indian Mounds intersection will be re-built and the connection road behind the mounds will be closed. Construction on 42 will continue up to the south entrance of Blakes by the Lakes. The road/shoulders/curb and gutter/and sidewalk will be 50 feet wide (the pavement is now 24 feet).
Unfortunately, we will end up with a wide highway in this residential neighborhood. The lake drive will be substantially changed. Lake water quality in all three lakes will be further threatened due to runoff. And highway speed and noise will distress the neighborhood.
We are especially concerned about following areas of road construction:
All of these areas in and of themselves cause concern and will require monitoring. Unfortunately, the county board’s refusal to order an EIS, or to require that the highway engineer be more specific in regard to water runoff management and other issues, leaves many questions unanswered.
Minnesota law prohibits any direct runoff into the lakes. We will rely on the DNR to oversee the project in hopes of protecting the lakes. We will help where we can.
There are a couple of additional matters of concern:
The Indian Mounds, and perhaps other areas along this roadway, will be strictly monitored to avoid any disruption of Indian grave sites.
As the road passes the Rotary Beach boat landing and swimming area, we will insist that toilet facilities be constructed to service the popular and heavily used area. The boat landing is operated by the DNR. Because it is immediately adjacent to the ALASD sewer line, toilet facilities should be constructed when the road project moves forward in Phase 3.
Now it’s the taxpayers turn. Even though the state is in a budget crunch, with a lack of transportation funds and deficits causing widespread concern, the County reports that Phase 1 alone will cost taxpayers $1.5 million dollars. The overall cost of the project will approach $3 million. Unfortunately, we really do not have any additional legal recourse at this point to prevent or further limit the county’s plan.
Thank all of you for your financial and/or moral support. This has been a challenging project for the lake associations and for all of us. We continue to believe that this is an ill-conceived project put forth by the county. It will destroy and forever change one of Alexandria’s few lake drives. Because it is so wide it will put unnecessary pollution pressures on our beautiful lakes.