Highway 212 Update

Commissioner John Fahey—US Highway 212 Update

Recently, I had the pleasure of attending an open house at the City of Cologne’s Community Center, covering the final phase of our Highway 212 Project. This phase, known as the Benton Township phase, goes from the City of Cologne to the City of Norwood Young America.

Based on the attendance, which our staff estimates at more than 100 people, the interest and importance of this project to those across the County and the region continues. If you attended, thank you for giving us your input. We’re also grateful for City and Township officials, business owners and public safety experts for offering input on the project.

This phase of the project is currently in the preliminary design and environmental review stage, which will last through the rest of 2022. Final design and land acquisition will occur in 2023 with construction planned for 2024-2025.

There are four main intersections that need addressing with this phase of the project. Our County Engineer, Lyndon Robjent, and his staff are recommending Reduced Conflict Intersections (RCIs) for safety and operational reasons at Salem Avenue, Highway 51, Highway 153 and the Public Works entrance. An additional turnaround (U-turn) will be provided approximately halfway between Salem Avenue and Highway 51. The intent with the RCIs and turnaround is to limit the out of direction travel to be one mile or less in total for residents that live along the highway corridor. On average, the out of direction travel time will likely be less than the time spent waiting to find a safe gap in traffic.

The most significant intersection, and perhaps most discussed over the years, is at the Highway 51 intersection near Bongards. The County hopes that an overpass with ramps, instead of an RCI, at this location can be realized. Inflation and supply chain issues are a risk that the project team is monitoring and are working on ways to reduce those cost and schedule risks. The project team looked at four different overpass options for Highway 51 to evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of each. Through feedback from stakeholders and the public, the consensus appears to be favoring the eastern overpass option. The project team plans to continue design on this eastern overpass option with hopes of its inclusion in the final construction plans.

This eastern overpass is my preferred option, based on feedback I’ve received from residents, public safety officials, as well as County, Township and City officials. It’s the option that best addresses the long-standing safety issues with that intersection. Our staff and elected officials on the State and Federal level continue to push for this option and the funding needed to make it happen—we should know soon if this becomes a reality.

Finally, construction on the first phase of Highway 212 update from Carver to Cologne continues, as we ask everyone traveling through this area to do so with caution and attentiveness. Make sure to follow the project’s progress and updates via Facebook at www.facebook.com/Hwy212Project.

John P. Fahey serves as a Carver County Commissioner representing District 5, which includes the Cities of Carver, Cologne, Hamburg, New Germany and Norwood Young America, as well as the Townships of Benton, Camden, Dahlgren, Hancock, San Francisco, Young America, and portion of Laketown Township.