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The Victoria GAZETTE |
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May 2012 |
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LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT TO EDEN PRAIRIE? THE TRACK RECORD IS A DARK HOLE There was a brief discussion on April 9th about bringing light rail transit out to Eden Prairie. Mayor Mary Thun had just received a resolution that afternoon from the State, asking for council to give a nod in their direction for what they said is a $25 million project. Stated Mayor Thun, "Our hope is that eventually Victoria would be able to hook onto it. I've looked at this. The big figure they have stated for roads out here is $0." Said Councilmember Jim Crowley, "I have yet to read about light rail that has been financially solvent. It will have to be continually supported by the taxpayer." He said he and his family have ridden the rail between the Mall of America and Minneapolis. He asked, "What if all that money had been put toward roads and our infrastructure that we have in place?" "Well, I'm in favor of it," said Councilmember Kim Roden. She made a motion to adopt the resolution supporting the Metropolitan Council's bonding request for southwest light rail transit. The motion was seconded by Mayor Mary Thun. Stated Councilmember Tom O'Connor, "They are wonderful concepts but the track record is a dark hole. Twenty-five million is a nice round number, but we have no time to study this." If this were approved, said Councilmember Tom Strigel, "we could then expect to see a bigger decrease in the quality of our roads. There's a question if there should be any bonding this year. We don't even know what the money is for." Stated Councilmember Roden, "It won't cash flow, but road don't cash flow either." She pointed out how rail works so well in Europe. "Our economy revolves around transit," said Counclmember Crowley. "Look at Europe? Their infrastructure was rail from the beginning. Ours has been in roads. We've got billions of dollars in roads. Transit is there right now." The vote to approve failed 2-3. The gals were in favor of the expenditure; the guys were not.
SPRING FLAGGERS AT ROLLING ACRES ROAD COMPLETING MANHOLE WORK IN THAT AREA Tim O'Donnell, Senior Information Coordinator and Project Citizen Liaison in the Technical Services Department of the Metropolitan Council Environmental Services, spoke to city councilmembers on April 23rd. "If it seems like I've been here several times in the last three years, it's because it's true," he said. The project is the Victoria Interceptor Sewer Tunnels of the Metropolitan Council. It began in 2008 on Smithtown Road in the northern part of the city, moved west down Highway 7, and then south along Rolling Acres Road. Headquarters of the project is the South Lake Virginia Shores Park on Smithtown Road, just north of Hwy 7. "Rolling Acres is done," said Mr. O'Donnell, "and most of Hwy 7 is done. It's about one and a half miles of sewer tunnel. The sewer pipe itself is six feet in diameter and is installed inside of an underground tunnel." He said that Hwy 7 is the longest stretch at over 3,500 feet, and that 3,479 feet of tunneling and sewer pipe is now installed there. Approximately 100 feet remain at the Baycliffe Lift Station . He said that 3,250 feet of tunnel and sewer pipe were completed along Rolling Acres Road in 2011. The shortest stretch of 609 feet, which was completed in February 2012, connected South Lake Virginia Shores Park to a pipe installed in 2008 at the intersection of Smithtown Road and Smithtown Terrace. Currently under construction is an odor control building located at the junction of the three sewer tunnels in South Lake Virginia Shores Park. Construction began in April 2012 and should be completed in July 2012. "It will have carbon bio-filters," said Mr. O'Donnell. "The building is 25 feet by 46 feet in size. We haven't decided if we'll abandon the old building or not." City manhole work will occur along Rolling Acres Road this spring with flaggers directing traffic during May and/or June. "It does slow people down but it does work well," he said. Councilmember Kim Roden asked about the sewer pipe to be going in along 74th Street at Rolling Acres Road and Schutz Lake, which will head in a southwesterly direction toward Kirke-Lachen. "We will be working from east to west," said Mr. O'Donnell. "We fill the existing pipe with 180-degree water which activates a resin to stretch and line the pipe. It becomes hard like sewer pipe." Some homeowners on that southern shore of Schutz Lake will be affected and given a couple options, he said, as their sewer and water will need to be shut down. "We can pump wastewater down the line from them or we can put them up in a hotel for a couple days," he said. "We will work with homeowners on the issues. We won't start this project until the fall of 2012 and will finish up in the spring of 2013. We'll have a meeting with residents this fall." None of the above work is expected to interfere with the detours and Hwy 5 construction through Victoria this summer.
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