Project Manager Newsletter
April 2025
Welcome to the latest edition of the PM Newsletter. Spring is finally here! This month, I will give an update on safety data and additional engagement coming up.
Last week, we provided an updated safety analysis that resulted from a request we heard at the February 27 Table Talk. In responding to a question about whether MnDOT had accounted for the close spacing between 66th Ave. and the I-694 interchange in its crash rate, the project team discovered an error. The analysis had misinterpreted the intersection crash rate for freeway facilities, affecting our 20-year crash forecast for each potential access combination on Hwy 252.
As the following bar graph shows, we originally predicted a reduction in crashes of 73% to 78% for the five access combinations compared to the no-build option. The revised interpretation instead finds a crash reduction of 47% to 48% across the five access combinations compared to the no-build option. This results in 2,063 fewer crashes in 20 years or 103 fewer crashes per year and 21 fewer fatal and serious injury crashes in 20 years or less than 1 crash per year.
You can see our updated April Table Talk recording where we walked through the updated safety data analysis here.
The above information is just one of many evaluation criteria we have analyzed to look at where and what type of accesses could most benefit Hwy 252 and the community.
Shifting to upcoming meetings and upcoming engagement opportunities, please join us on Tue, May 20 to listen to the Policy Advisory Committee meeting and/or a Wed, May 28 webinar to hear about the Phase 1B evaluation and access combination recommendation.
If you can’t make those virtual meetings, we will be hosting in-person public meetings on June 10 and 11. More details are on the meetings webpage.
There will also be additional opportunities for engagement on public health in May and June. Stay tuned for more information very soon on the meetings webpage.
Question of the month
What improvements may be made to local streets?
Improvements to local streets intersecting Hwy 252 will be carried out as needed. Improvements to local streets will address safety and operational concerns resulting from increased traffic caused by the removal of access to/from Hwy 252. As the project advances, potential improvements will be assessed based on identified potential impacts to local streets. Additional enhancements to local streets may also be proposed as mitigation from other potential impacts not associated with operational issues on local streets.