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Highway 67 project down the road

MnDOT to start Clarkfield repaving in 2023

Photo by Mike Lamb The above photo shows Minnesota Highway 67 at one end of the planned repavement project by Minnesota Department of Transportation in 2023. The location is right at the intersection of U.S. Highway 59.

CLARKFIELD — Dick Petersen walked up to the large aerial map of Clarkfield on a table inside Medea’s Cafe.

Right in the center of the map, Highway 67 was highlighted with large yellow circles at each end of the roadway. The map pinpointed a Minnesota Department of Transportation project to repave the highway slated to start in 2020.

Petersen looked at the map while hearing some of the details about the project.

“So it happens I’m going to see this (completion of project). That means I’m going to live four more years,” a smiling Peterson said. “I’m going to be 90 already.”

Representatives from MnDOT held an open house on the proposed $4.4 million project at the cafe Tuesday evening. Project Manager Aaron Vacek with SRK Engineering told residents who attended the open house that while the project is more than three years away, the hearing was an opportunity for residents to express concerns and suggestions.

“We are looking for feedback on —  do you want other amenities,” Vasek said. “Planters, do you want to see something like banners, benches, garbage cans along the roadway.”

The project will replace pavement on Highway 67 from Highway 59 to Sixth Street.

“(The project) will take off all the pavement and sidewalk, reconstruct the grade,” MnDOT Design Engineer Lowell Flaten said. “So it will be a sub-grade preparation. Then we will put in new pavement, new roadway pavement down and sidewalk down.”

Flaten said it’s just time to replace the pavement.

“So we are replacing the sidewalk at the same time. Upgrade the sidewalk to meet ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) requirements,” he said.

Vasek said MnDOT will cover the costs of the reconstruction of the roadway, the curb and sidewalks. However, the state will cover 90 percent of the cost related to the shoulder. He said the city will have to decide how to pay for the other 10 percent. Vasek said it will cost about $8,000 a block.

“My question is going to be the cost,” a resident in the audience asked. “You said about $8,000 a block. How is that divvied up? If there is one or two businesses on the block, how are you dividing that?”

Vasek said that decision will be up to the city.

Another resident was concerned about truck traffic.

“It’s going to be concrete, right? He asked.

“We don’t know if it’s going to be concrete or bituminous,” Vasek said.

“We have a lot of tonnage,” the resident said. “We have at least 600 to 700 semi loads coming in a day. It definitely would be worth it to put concrete there.”

Vasek said studies will be conducted between now and when the project will start to make those kinds of decisions.

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