Project Overview
The City of Rochester and the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT)
District 6 initiated the Northern Rochester Transportation Study (NRTS).
The NRTS focused on identifying and analyzing needed transportation
improvements in an area bound by 75th Street NW on the north, 55th Street NW on
the south, 50th Avenue NW on the west, and 18th Avenue NW on the east.
The NRTS is a follow-up to a transportation study conducted in 2005-2006, which
focused on a similar area. The 2005-2006 Study was aimed at identifying issues
and needs within the 55th Street NW interchange area and the 65th Street NW
growth area to develop appropriate transportation improvements to address the
existing capacity and congestion problems at the 55th Street interchange as well
as future traffic needs.
The 2005-2006 Study involved an extensive alternative evaluation process and
traffic operations analysis of improvements to the 55th Street interchange and
surrounding area. The Study, while not formally completed due to funding
shortfalls, did show that widening 55th Street NW to six-lanes through the
interchange area along with other local roadway connectivity improvements (such
as frontage/backage roads) did not fully resolve the capacity and levels of
service problems in the long term.
The continued growth within the northern Rochester area and specific development
pressure within the 65th Street NW/Highway 52 vicinity prompted the City of
Rochester and Mn/DOT District 6 to form a partnership to proactively address
these transportation issues and needs. The NRTS Partnership has agreed the scope
of the new NRTS study will look at a phased approach to improvements that:
- Update valuable information gathered in the previous 2005-2006 Study
- Address the immediate transportation needs, such as 55th Street interchange
congestion relief and congestion relief on local roads
- Identify and analyze improvements needed in the vicinity of 65th Street,
including evaluation of a new interchange at 65th Street/Highway 52
- Address the long-range transportation goals (year 2035) by identifying the
ultimate transportation network roadway plan for the area and preparing a staged
implementation schedule.
The purpose of identifying the ultimate transportation roadway plan for this
area now is to facilitate the agencies’ ability to preserve right-of-way and
secure funding for the future phased implementation of the recommended
improvements.
The NRTS expanded upon the 2005-2006 Study by assessing improvements needed at 65th
Street NW, e.g., widening 65th Street west of Highway 52 and providing new interchange
access to Highway 52 at 65th Street NW. The recommended improvements for the 65th
Street area were coordinated with improvements at the 55th Street interchange
and improved local roadway connectivity, along with various alternatives for protecting
the safety and capacity of Highway 52 to develop a series of phased network
transportation improvements projects to address the long range issues and needs
surrounding the 55th Street NW interchange and the 65th Street NW growth area.
The various project phases of NRTS improvements include assessment of
social, environmental, and economic impacts of the various alternatives to select
roadway system improvements that minimize impacts while meeting the identified public
transportation system needs. Public and agency involvement will be solicited to
provide input regarding project impacts.