Possible Roundabout, Noise Walls Included in Eagan's $65 Milion Capital Improvement Plan

The Eagan City Council turned its focus to the future on Tuesday night, as it reviewed the city's five-year capital improvement plan.

Eagan's capital improvement program is a non-binding guide that city officials use to outline building, road and other infrastructure projects—as well as equipment costs.

Projects in the five-year improvement plan are among the city’s top infrastructure priorities, and plan is adjusted annually by city officials and the Eagan City Council. Although the council took no action on the plan on Tuesday, council members are expected to vote whether to approve the updated 2013-2017 capital improvement plan on June 5.

All total, the five-year plan calls for more than $65 million in infrastructure improvements through 2017. But more than half of the plan's projected expenses—roughly $38 million—will likely come in 2013 and 2014. Those years, city officials expect to undertake a high volume of road resurfacing projects, City Engineer Russ Matthys said.

To see projected, year-by-year expenditures, click on the PDF document attached to this article.

In 2013 alone, the proposed improvements include over $5 million in repairs to major roadways in the city, $4 million in repairs to smaller, neighborhood roads, nearly $2 million in trail improvements and more than $2 million in intersection upgrades.

Significant 2013 projects outlined in the plan include the reconstruction of Cedar Grove Parkway to accommodate a , the resurfacing of Nicols Road from Cedar Grove Parkway to Meghan Lane and the possible addition of a roundabout at the intersection of Wescott and Elrene Roads in Eagan. Before going forward with the construction of a roundabout, the city would likely conduct an evaluation of that intersection to determine the best course of action, Matthys said.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation and city officials will likely be holding neighborhood meetings in 2012 to discuss construction of two new traffic noise barriers in Eagan, Matthys told the council on Tuesday. The city got its first noisewall earlier this year. Now, MnDOT is considering building barriers on the east side of Interstate 35E near Deerwood Drive and near the Cedar Avenue/I-35E interchange, Matthys said.

If the Eagan City Council approves the updated capital improvement plan on June 5, city officials will likely begin feasibility studies for the 2013 projects, Matthys said.