Woodbury Gears Up for ‘Ambitious’ 2011 Roadwork Projects

With pothole season well underway, Woodbury is getting ready for a summer of roadwork.

“It’s probably the largest rehabilitation project the city has ever completed,” City Engineer Klayton Eckles told the Woodbury City Council during Wednesday night's meeting.

The 2011 Roadway Rehabilitation Project (see map) includes:

• Wooddale Drive and Woodlane Drive (Wooddale Drive to 2,300 feet north)
• Tower Drive (Valley Creek Road to 4,000 feet south)
• Woodlane Hills
• Woodcliff and Cochrane Drive (Courtly Road to Woodlane Drive)
• School Drive
• Lake Road (3,000-4,000 feet east of Woodlane Drive)

“This is a very large and ambitious project,” Eckles said.

Woodbury officials estimate the project will cost about $4.7 million, with $2.3 million coming from the city’s road rehabilitation and maintenance fund, nearly $2.1 million in assessments and the remainder covered by other city funds. Residential property will be assessed about one-third of the cost; commercial properties will be assessed at 90 percent of the associated costs.

For specifics on the costs of each portion of the project, click here.

The city council on Wednesday ordered the project and approved the preparation of plans and specifications. The work is expected to begin in June and the bulk of it should be finished around Labor Day and totally complete by Oct. 1, Eckles said.

Seven miles of Woodbury roads will see work and 800 residential units and 50 businesses will be affected. The city will likely approve the plans on March 23, and hold an assessment hearing and approve bids on May 25.

Most of the work will consist of mill and overlay, in which the blacktop is torn up, recycled and put back in place, Eckles said. The city tries to get 25 years of life out of its roads, Eckles said, responding to a question from Councilman Paul Rebholz.

One major change will be at Tower Drive, which has seen a high rate of accidents because of cars stacking up at Valley Creek Road, Eckles said. The city will add an additional left-turn lane from Tower Drive onto Valley Creek Road in an effort to prevent cars from backing up to the Tower-Upper Afton Road intersection.

“We’re hopeful that that will improve that situation,” Eckles said, adding that the city considered a roundabout at the site but found it to be cost prohibitive.

Another point of concern for the city is speeding on Sherwood Road. The city will look at the possibility of traffic-calming efforts along the roadway, which makes sense to do in conjunction with an improvement project, Eckles said.

Ron Mickschl, who has lived in the area for 13 years, said his mailbox has been run over three times and is surprised that there has not been an accident involving a pedestrian in the area.

In other action, the Woodbury City Council:

• went into a closed session to discuss the lawsuit against 3M involving groundwater contamination;
• approved the eighth and ninth additions to the Stonemill Farms development;
• heard from City Administrator Clint Gridley that the city has seen nearly double the amount of snowfall of a typical year, and crews have done an “outstanding” job keeping up with plowing; and
• approved a growth-management plan for the city’s .