West St. Paul seeks relief from state on rising Robert Street construction costs

A second year of construction is underway on Robert Street in West St. Paul, and city officials are pressing the state to shoulder more of the project's still-rising costs.

City officials are encouraging residents to reach out to their state legislators to help push forward a bill that would cover an additional $12 million for the reconstruction of the city's key commercial artery, which is a state-owned highway. Without that $12 million, West St. Paul is set to pay about 54 percent of the construction costs, or about $23 million. The city hired a lobbyist last year, at a cost of $27,500, to advocate for the additional funding.

Without it, West St. Paul officials said they will have to postpone other capital projects, including improvements to local roads, city hall and sanitary sewer lift stations.

"We did not have an established funding mechanism set up for this project before this started," Mayor Dave Meisinger said. "This is the consequence of it now that every penny is coming out of taxpayers' pockets."

Officials had recently estimated total costs at $41.5 million, but that has now risen to $43.2 million. Federal funding is taking on about 18 percent of that, and the state is paying about 19 percent.

"We have a disproportionate share on a state highway," said Joan Carlson, city finance director.

The project kicked off after the Minnesota Department of Transportation granted the city about $8 million in 2010 to meet safety requirements after the road ranked among the five worst Minnesota state highways for vehicle crashes. The commercial corridor is lined with retailers on both sides, with closely spaced driveways. The road was also listed in the bottom 8 percent of Minnesota state roads by MnDOT's pavement ratings.

The city did most of the work on the north part of the road during the first phase of construction last year.

Final touch-ups will be made this year on the north end, from Annapolis Street to Thompson Avenue, where crews will tidy up work on medians, driveways and sidewalks. Crews started the second phase of construction on April 4. Robert Street businesses will stay open throughout construction. Drivers can use detours on Livingston Avenue and Oakdale Avenue to get their shopping done.

Negotiations are continuing with property owners lining Robert Street. Out of the 140 properties along the street, the city has reached about half of the appraisals for right-of-way acquisition — about $3.7 million. The city also agreed to a settlement with Target to include a right-turn lane on Robert Street outside the store.

The city is also estimating about $1.2 million in excavation costs to haul out muck that needs to be replaced with sand, and the number is likely to go up, said Carlson.

City taxpayers are feeling the burden of construction costs.

City Council Member John Bellows said the city is caught in a perfect storm.

"We are trying to monitor it as carefully as possible," Bellows said. "At this point, it's a matter of watching each aspect of the project to make sure we are on time and on target."