Freight Rail Study Wraps up Right Before Shutdown

A study on the controversial freight rail reroute proposal in St. Louis Park wrapped up just before a .

The Minnesota Department of Transportation concluded that a recently completed will be sufficient, meaning a lengthier, more complex Environmental Impact Study won't be needed.

While the St. Louis Park reroute option isn't finalized, the decision does clear at least one hurdle in making it a reality. MnDOT, along with several other entities, including Hennepin County, are expected to decide on what to do with the freight trains later this year as part of ongoing plans to clear the way for a southwest light rail line.

While MnDOT as a whole is still in for a major impact with a shutdown, MnDOT spokesman Kevin Gutknecht said the department will still ensure public safety. If a road buckles in the heat, or a similar emergency road maintenance issue arises, there will still be crews available to make the repair, Gutknecht said.

“If there’s something that happens on a roadway system that impedes traffic and is a safety issue, we’re going to get to it as quickly as we can," he said. "But we won’t be doing things like mowing; we won’t be doing things like guard-rail repair.”

Still, it’ll be a small crew handling those limited areas—225 to 250 people out of the agency’s total of 5,000 will still be on duty. Freeway Incident Response, Safety Team crews—the unit charged with getting out to clear debris and accidents, and assist stalled motorists—won’t be operating during a shutdown, Gutknecht said.

Because the Regional Transportation Management center will be closed, traffic cameras and ramp meters won’t be operating, either.

“Traffic will have a different complexion” during the shutdown, Gutknecht said. That might be hard to notice, though, because the upcoming holiday could lighten traffic into next week.

Work on all of MnDOT’s approximately 100 active road construction projects in the state will also be suspended, as well as any projects on state right-of-ways, Gutknecht said. Delays could also be seen with planning for future projects, such as in St. Louis Park.

The state’s road research facility, MnROAD, will also be shut down. Research director Marjorie Jensen said the state’s one-of-a-kind highway research site was to undergo a major facelift in July, but that won’t happen.

“We won’t be able to collect some very valuable data sets, at least for the next month,” Jensen said.

Even some federally funded projects are being shut down, Gutknecht said, because of MnDOT’s role in overseeing the projects or in serving as a conduit for the federal money.

Some cities and counties are continuing work regardless of a shutdown, and some are also suspending their road projects due to state involvement, the spokesman said.

Gutknecht said he wasn’t sure yet whether a shutdown might result in lawsuits from companies that contract with the state, or from businesses in the vicinity of suspended road construction projects.

“We’re going to have to wait and see,” he said.

Major projects that will be stopped due the shutdown include the Highway 169/Interstate 494 interchange, a resurfacing project on Interstate 35E from Interstate 694 to the Forest Lake split, and the Lafayette Bridge project, Gutknecht said.

“(A shutdown will) certainly slow down schedules, it certainly affects the employees of the contractors who are not doing work, it certainly affects state employees who are going to be laid off,” he said.