New bridge for Belle Plaine aims to bring together 'this side and the other side'

A bridge that Belle Plaine plans to build over Hwy. 169 would connect the city's northern and southern halves and, officials said, could boost existing businesses and spur new commercial and industrial development.

The span, dubbed the County Road 3 area bridge, would give Belle Plaine a second crossing over 169, which runs through the center of the Scott County city.

"Right now, what we've got going on there is 'that side and the other side,' " said Scott County Commissioner Joe Wagner, whose district includes Belle Plaine. "We keep talking about 'sides,' and Belle Plaine is one community. Right now it's divided by Hwy. 169. If we could have a good, safe overpass, that would do wonders for that community."

The project would extend Enterprise Drive over Hwy. 169 to Commerce Drive, with the bridge going just west of County Road 3, also known as Meridian Drive.

The existing overpass is roughly a mile away, at the interchange of Hwy. 169 and Hwy. 25. That interchange is too close to the site of the proposed County Road 3 area bridge to allow construction of another full interchange. The new bridge will operate much like an interchange but will use existing turn lanes to allow access.

The new link will improve access to highway businesses and the city's north side, including downtown and its businesses, schools and an athletic complex, city administrator Holly Kreft said. "We're really trying to better connect both sides of the highway," Kreft said.

The bridge also could attract development to land north of Hwy. 169 and west of County Road 3, Kreft said. The city owns 12 acres in that area, previously acquired for a possible interchange, in addition to privately owned land in the area.

The bridge would cost an estimated $5 million to build and would take one construction season or less to complete, Kreft said. Drivers may see lane changes on Hwy. 169 when the bridge's center pier goes up, but otherwise should notice few disruptions from the work on the frontage roads or highway.

The City Council already has approved acquisition of two pieces of land in the path of the bridge and signed off on engineering services and other preliminary work, Kreft said. The council still will have to approve a final design, which Kreft said the Minnesota Department of Transportation might develop in-house.

The council also would have to agree on a plan to finance construction. The city received $702,000 from MnDOT and $735,000 from Scott County to put toward the project, Kreft said, and is applying for up to an additional $750,000 from MnDOT. The city is considering financing the balance with state aid bonds, which it would repay with future state aid funds.

Wagner believes the new bridge would bring development to the area.

"They've got some wonderful commercial-industrial property that's waiting to be developed," Wagner said. "That's the one thing that Belle Plaine desperately needs, is a bigger industrial-commercial tax base."

"The bridge should be straight across and not jog around with streets involved and extra turns," Trost said in an interview, adding that an overpass on County Road 3 would be "more user-friendly."

Chard said he respected the efforts of Pinglore and others to advance the bridge plan but would revisit the possibility of a full interchange with MnDOT and the Met Council. He said the agencies wanted an interchange in Belle Plaine to be at least 2 miles from the Hwy. 25 interchange, while County Road 3 is slightly more than a mile from Hwy. 25. Chard also would favor a bridge on County Road 3 instead of next to it.

"I'd just like somebody to look me straight in the face and say it ain't going to happen there," Chard said of the options he prefers. "I'm just not sold on why they're telling us to put it where it is they want it put."

Pingalore said the bridge fits in with his vision for promoting growth and "creating a successful city" by attracting industrial and commercial development that would help lower the tax burden on residents.

"We're already talking to developers, we're already talking to land owners," Pingalore said of development interest the bridge plan has generated.

"It's not perfect," Pingalore said of the proposal. "It's Plan B, but it will get the job done. It will create economic development and it will create connectivity and growth for our city."