The long-awaited Armstrong Boulevard Interchange on Hwy. 10 in Ramsey is on the fast lane as construction is set to begin in a couple of months — but first the city will celebrate.
The city of Ramsey will host an "Armstrong Interchange Appreciation" event at 11 a.m. Monday at the Fountains of Ramsey. It will include appearances by Gov. Mark Dayton and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar to thank the funding partners.
Construction is expected to begin in February and take about a year to complete.
City officials hope the project is fully funded, but will not know the final tally until the construction bids open.
"[The Armstrong Interchange project] will be a big help to the area here. … It's a big public safety issue," said City Administrator Kurt Ulrich.
The project will eliminate a dangerous bottleneck in Ramsey by removing traffic lights on Hwy. 10 at Armstrong Boulevard. It will include on- and off-ramps and a bridge to carry Armstrong traffic over the highway and adjacent railroad tracks.
Funding for the intersection is the first step in addressing other Hwy. 10 issues, Ulrich said. The multimillion-dollar project could be the first of a series of upgrades to remove several traffic signals on the crash-prone highway corridor extending into Anoka.
The estimated cost to construct the Armstrong Interchange is $30 million to $35 million. The project also includes more than $10 million in soft costs and right-of-way acquisition, according to a news release for the event.
