GRANITE FALLS — A cost of $2,720 sounds like a lot of money for two stop signs, but it’s considered a small price to pay if they prevent even one death or injury.

At Tuesday’s board meeting, Yellow Medicine County commissioners approved a $2,720 purchase of two signs equipped with solar-powered flashing lights. They will be used at locations where drivers tend to make mistakes and not properly come to complete stops.

They will first be placed sometime shortly after Labor Day at the intersection of County Highways 3 and 13 in Canby.

That location is seeing an unusual traffic pattern because of a combination of 2019 city street construction and road projects on nearby several highways. It’s added to past concerns about the intersection, which mainly involve drivers who miss the stop sign when proceeding east-west along the north side of the city.

“I started getting complaints about it as soon as I took office,” said Commissioner Glen Kack, whose district includes the city of Canby and three neighboring townships. “Semis have gone through it at 30 to 40 miles an hour.”

He added that the east-west section of County Road 3 has the appearance of a bypass around the city limits. As a result, drivers not familiar with it might miss a plain stop sign but would be more likely to notice one with some added brightness.

In discussion, commissioners noted two other possible changes that could be considered for the intersection. One suggestion was to trim trees on its eastern side. The other was to have stop ahead signs, which are normally used only at rural intersections but might lead to an added measure of safety.

“Anything that might make it safer should at least be talked about,” said Commissioner Ron Antony. “What especially concerns me is that it’s only a block away from Canby’s elementary school. There are definitely some safety issues.”

County Highway Engineer Andy Sander said flashing sign approval from the Minnesota Department of Transportation isn’t necessary since the intersection only involves two county roads. He advised the board that the need for special signage should be well-documented if it stays in place permanently, however, in case similar requests for signs would follow from locations throughout the county.

Sheriff Bill Flaten suggested placing the signs at the Canby location for this fall and then potentially moving them to other places that see a similar temporary need.

Both Hanley Falls and Clarkfield are scheduled for similar construction within city limits under the 2021 road plan. Each year of the upcoming five-year plan includes locations where extra signage might be desirable.

“They could be used now at County Roads 3 and 13, then later at other places,” Flaten said. “We should definitely get our money’s worth that way. Long-term factors could be considered for whether or not to keep extra signage on a permanent basis.”

Also at Tuesday’s meeting, the board heard a report from Antony about a decline in hauling volume, and therefore a drop in revenue, for the Minnesota Valley Railroad Authority.

He said the railroad, a five-county partnership that involves track between Hanley Falls and Young America, has only serviced 3,418 car loads thus far in 2019 compared to a projected 4,629. The downturn has been most apparent the past several months, after spring flood activity on parts of the Upper Mississippi River Basin.

“It goes back to what happened with delays in barge shipments,” Antony said. “Now it’s made it’s way back to our part of Minnesota and railroads aren’t shipping as much grain. It’s a budget concern, especially in the short term. Our revenue won’t be as high as expected.”

The shortfall might affect the amount of track updating that takes place in the next several years. A section between Gibbon and Winthrop in Sibley County was improved in 2018.

Antony said shipments are likely to pick up after the backlog eases, as stored grain can once again be transported to distant markets.

He added that the Wood Lake elevator is considering making use of the rail line after a recent ownership change. It would become the westernmost shipping point.

The board also finalized a conditional use zoning permit that will extend gravel mining activities in Hammer Township on the northeast side of Canby near the highway department’s Canby shop location.

Jolene Johnson of the county planning and zoning office told the board that the permit update will allow additional mining that extends out from the current mining area to the east. Eventually the area to be mined will be reclaimed by planting grass that will be mowed for hay.

“Based on what’s been mined so far, they want to continue mining into the new area,” Johnson said. “They aren’t sure how much more gravel is available, but it’s enough to keep going.”

She said Canby city officials asked about the stockpiling of gravel and the height of excavation piles, but that those concerns were addressed through the zoning application review process. Commissioner Greg Renneke, who serves on the planning and zoning board, said it approved the proposal with only brief discussion.

Antony also provided an update on structural needs for the Hanley Falls museum facilities operated by the Pioneer Power antique farm implement collectors group.

He said several of the machine sheds need roof upgrades in the near future. Pioneer Power would like to complete them in advance of its 40th anniversary threshing show event in 2020, which might include some additional celebration activities in the first week of August.

“It might be possible to use Sentence to Serve labor,” Antony said. “It will depend on their timetable. The repairs would have to be done in stages if they go with STS, probably one building at a time.”