Baxter eyes possible $3.1 million in street projects by 2025 – Brainerd Dispatch

BAXTER – Business owners on Edgewood Drive questioned the need to repave the street now as it appears there are still years left in the street life.

The questions came during a Nov. 7 improvement hearing for the 2025 commercial deep remediation improvement projects — which means more work than a mill and overlay project — for several roads in the city.

Streets include Audubon Way, Edgewood Drive (north of Novotny Road), Lake Forest Road, and Whispering Woods Lane (west of Pearl Drive and extending 150 feet east).

The project is expected to cost $3,160,989, of which $2,249,268 will be allocated to property owners.

Several entrepreneurs were present at the hearing. Alex Bitter, project engineer at Widseth, provided an overview of the project. For the city, the idea follows the pavement maintenance plan and the goal of having those streets in the commercial area meet a 10-ton standard.

The entrepreneurs present wondered whether it was necessary to carry out a road project, while the street probably still has years to go before it is needed.

Patrick Sundberg, owner of Jack Pine Brewery on Edgewood Drive, who was recently elected to the Baxter City Council in January, said the cost for his property would be $150,000.

Sundberg said if he had that money to spend, it wouldn’t break any new ground at this point. He pointed out the 70% cost difference for the entire land reclamation, while the road still has a few years left in its life cycle.

Engineers said this is one of the last areas in the city where high streets do not meet the 10 tonne standard. In 10 years, Sundberg said this was one delivery of mulch. The owners of Arrowwood Lodge in Brainerd Lakes also objected in a letter to the council.

Mayor Darrel Olson attended the hearing, along with council members Connie Lyscio and Jeff Phillips. Council members Mark Cross and Zach Tabatt were absent.

Olson said there was no rush and the purpose of the hearing was to get their feedback.

Engineers said once the street is built to a 10-ton standard, for a stronger road, a mill and overlay could be installed in 20 years, and then again at 20-year intervals. They also noted that construction is not cheaper over time and that ratings could be higher in the future. Once the road begins to have what they describe as stippling, it can quickly deteriorate and may be beyond the work of a few inches with the cutter and overlay.

Trevor Walter, public works director and city engineer, said they could probably last another two or four years, but he noted that costs are also rising 3 to 5% per year.

Part of the city’s argument also was to be steady on projects, rather than going up and down as the city manages its 80 miles of city streets. Walter noted that some streets could be delayed, but he would argue that Audubon Way was in worse shape than the others. And as for bonding, the city needs 20% of the assessments to fund the project. Walter said they want to bring in $10 million in projects per year. He said there’s a lot that goes into managing pavement, taking into account high groundwater, drought versus flood years and freeze/thaw cycles. For roads, he said, a winter with a consistent temperature of 20 degrees below zero would be best for paving.

At Edgewood, Walter said they knew the road would fail, but the question was when that would happen, which could probably be another two or three years.

Audubon Way was last upgraded in 2004 and was chip-sealed in 2017. The chip-seal process was a problem because it did not work as expected and even accelerated the sidewalk’s demise. The city has turned to a microsurfacing process to expand the pavement lift, which seems more promising for the future. But in the meantime, the country is dealing with broken streets. The city reported that Audubon Way has large stretches of repairs, areas with heavy crack sealing and that the concrete median on the north side would be replaced. The project includes sanitary sewer work, storm sewer rehabilitation and specific curb and gutter repairs.

Edgewood Drive was last improved in 2003 and was chip-sealed in 2017. The report notes that there are also large areas of repair work and areas of heavy crack sealing. A major restoration project was completed in 2020. The project included necessary sanitary sewer repairs, storm sewer repairs, and selected curb and gutter repairs.

Lake Forest Road was last improved in 2004. The city cited the same problems as other streets in the project area.

Whispering Woods Lane was last improved in 2002, has some repairs and crack sealing and includes storm sewer work and curb and gutter repairs.

The proposed street work would reclaim the road to a depth of approximately 8.5 inches, create a compact 6-inch reclaimed base, add 6 inches of paving and replace existing driveways to the right-of-way. Other work detailed in the project report includes adjusting the slopes for drainage issues, berms where necessary, reconstructed manholes, rehabilitated fire hydrants as required and new pavement markings.

The beneficiary property owners would receive 100% of the project costs up to a roadway width of up to 13 meters. The city would pay for any additions to that width and non-buildable area, with remaining costs assessed based on the first square foot.

People would have twelve years to pay, with interest determined at the time the bonds were sold. The property owners would pay for 71% of the project, while the city would provide 29%.

Next steps could include a possible City Council resolution ordering the improvements and preparation of plans by Nov. 19. These plans would be reviewed at a utility committee meeting on Jan. 8 and then presented to the City Council on Jan. 21, with the opportunity to approve the plans and order an advertisement for bids.

The bid opening could take place on February 20th and then an assessment hearing could take place on April 8th.

Renee Richardson, editor-in-chief, can be reached at 218-855-5852 or [email protected]. Follow on Twitter at @DispatchBizBuzz.