Grand Forks City Council members discussed a proposed underpass or overpass at 42nd Street extensively Tuesday night, with concerns ranging from how to pay for it to how it'll affect UND.
Council President Hal Gershman asked if consultants thought of creating an overpass for the railroad tracks, which are the root of the problems. Trains go by several times a day on their way in and out of the nearby rail yard, causing traffic jams where 42nd meets DeMers Avenue.
Kris Bakkegard, project manager with the consulting firm Kadrmas, Lee & Jackson, said the weight of the trains is so great that the elevation would require a very long, very gradual ramp, too big for the confines of the city.
Council member Dana Sande asked if city staff had talked to UND. The university owns a golf course at the southeast corner of the intersection and, under some layouts, could lose a chunk of the course.
Assistant City Engineer Mark Walker said he has and that UND does want traffic to flow smoothly through the intersection. The university will be weighing the loss of a corner of the golf course against the advantages of a better connection between the campus, on the north side of the intersection, and land to the south, he said.
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Council member Doug Christensen said he's worried about how it'll be funded -- staff had estimated it'll cost in excess of $20 million -- and that doesn't include buying land.
Consultants expect to bring the underpass and overpass options back for public comment in March and finish the report by June.
In other news, the council also agreed to:
- Have the state spend $1.6 million on major maintenance on Gateway Drive from Interstate 29 to the Red River.
- Pay $10,000 for an expansion of the dog park at Lincoln Park to include a separate area for small dogs, which owners say wouldn't mix well with bigger dogs.
- A liquor license of JL Beers, a bar and grill with a location in Fargo, allowing the company to open at 2531 S. Columbia Road.
- A five-year lease for Amazing Grains food cooperative on land by the water treatment plant for its community garden, provided the co-op pays for fencing. The issue will likely return to the council because co-op representatives were in the audience, but the council didn't notice that they wanted to speak on the matter.
Reach Tran at (701) 780-1248; (800) 477-6572, ext. 248; or send e-mail to ttran@gfherald.com .
