A fast-tracked interchange to aid traffic coming to and from the Albertville Premium Outlets may hit a major road block this summer.
With all the news and talk of a possible government shutdown, it’s not hard to wonder how life in our community could be affected.
“It would be seamless for most city services,” Albertville city administrator Larry Kruse said Tuesday. “The biggest issue would be the final plans with the I-94 project.”
That road project, which has been in the works for more than five years, finally got the green light last spring, as the city worked with the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) to work out any funding shortages. A federal grant, awarded four years ago, means the project has to be completed by 2013.
“There will definitely be a learning curve,” city engineer Adam Nafstad said. “If our plans and review are still pending at MnDOT when the shutdown occurs, things could definitely be delayed.”
The project has to go through two reviews through MNDOT, the first at the district level (St. Cloud) and the second at the central MNDOT (St. Paul) offices. The project is currently being reviewed at the district level. If a shutdown were to take place, approval would be delayed indefinitely.
“The goal right now is to address all of MnDOT’s questions and concerns and gain their approval before the shutdown occurs,” Nafstad said Tuesday.
Because government shutdowns happen very rarely it’s uncertain what it will look like when it happens. The definition of "essential" vs. "nonessential" services comes into play. And that creates a huge grey area.
“My understanding is that in the near future it will be determined what is essential and nonessential, and at that point there will be some strategic maneuvering done by MnDOT,” Nafstad said. “It’s reasonable to assume that if a shutdown occurs there will be a delay of an unknown amount of time.”
The current schedule for the I-94 project was to go through the approval process (early this year) and then start the bidding process this summer, with some preliminary work done on the roads involved as early as this fall. Expected completion of the final project is December 2012.
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