TH 610 & East River Road

The Coon Rapids City Council directed staff to investigate better access to and from the east at TH 610 in the area around Coon Rapids Boulevard. Many of the surrounding properties were interested in potential redevelopment, and improved access to/from the east was a critical economic development concern. Additionally, the industrial/commercial property owners in the area bounded by Coon Rapids Boulevard, TH 47, 85th Avenue NW and the BNSF Railroad tracks also expressed concerns with current access limitations to TH 610. In the fall of 2011, the City hired a consultant to identify potential concepts to provide better access. The preferred concept was a buttonhook for the westbound ramps connecting into Foley Boulevard.

City, County, and Interchange Committee members from MnDOT and the Metropolitan Council met several times to discuss the proposed project. Ultimately, the Committee sent a letter stating the project did not meet the qualifying criteria. In general, the City and County wanted to continue pursuit of the interchange, but funding constraints limited further pursuit of the project at that time.

Property required for the proposed TH 610/Coon Rapids Boulevard westbound buttonhook became available on the real estate market. The City purchased it in June 2018, primarily for the interchange. Since 2012, Anoka County, in partnership with the City, pursued funding for the Foley Railroad Grade-Separation project. The project has now received federal funding and is currently in

the construction phase.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation agreed that certain design standards for the proposed access interchange at East River Road meet the criteria required by the Interchange Review Committee.  Read the letter from MnDOT here. 

The City of Coon Rapids and Anoka County requested $1.5 million in the 2020 legislative session for the preliminary design and environmental documentation of a full access interchange for TH 610 at East River Road. Funds were received in January 2021. The Coon Rapids City Council approved an application for a Roadway Expansion Grant through the Metropolitan Council’s 2020 Regional Solicitation program to the Transportation Advisory Board. Future next steps on the TH 610 project will be dependent upon if funds are received through the state bonding funding or this regional solicitation program grant. The City was unsuccessful in securing this funding.

On May 4, 2021, the City Council awarded a consulting contract to begin the environmental documentation and design phase of the TH 610/East River Road full access interchange, and work began immediately. The design process will last approximately two years, but the City is striving for a MnDOT-approved layout in Fall 2022 in order to begin developing a funding package for construction. From June 14 through July 2, the City’s engineering consultant collected data needed for design and alternative development. Work included survey crews, UAV (drone) flights, and wetland delineations. The first public open house was conducted virtually on July 30 to review project alternatives. Open house #2 was held in person on August 31, 2021. Three alternative designs were presented and discussed. The project team performed a technical review of each alternative and comments received to determine which layouts were constructible.

Open house #3 was held in person on December 15, 2021. Two refined alternatives were presented for public review. On January 11, 2022, a work session was conducted with local elected officials to discuss progress to date and provide input on a preferred alternative. On February 24, 2022, open house #4 was held virtually. The preferred alternative was presented for public review and comment.

The project team submitted an application requesting federal funds for the preferred alternative through the Metropolitan Council's 2022 Regional Solicitation program. The City was unsuccessful in securing this funding. Coordination with the railroad for bridge widening began in April 2022. In May, the preferred alternative was submitted to MnDOT and Anoka County for agency review and acceptance.

Value Engineering (VE) study of the preferred alternative was performed. A link to the report can be found  here.  The preferred alternative remained substantially similar and was submitted in August 2022 to MnDOT for official review and approval. Geotechnical investigations for structures and roadway embankments began and is currently underway.

The fifth open house was held on October 27, 2022. The preferred alternative was presented to the public and feedback was collected. Field monitoring for the noise analysis began in October as well. Data collected from this will inform the environmental document and final design.

MnDOT approved the preferred alternative (illustrated below), and it is now referred to as the Staff Approved Layout.

The project team continued coordination with BNSF Railroad to address the project's impacts on the existing bridges in the project area. After a final review of the preferred alternative, BNSF Railroad determined that the existing TH 610 bridges do not meet clearance requirements and still have an active service life of more than 50 years. This decision changed the project’s evaluation criteria and new alternatives were required.

The project team developed new geometric alternatives on the south side of TH 610 to eliminate any impact to BNSF Railroad right-of-way or the existing TH 610 bridges over BNSF Railroad. These alternatives were submitted to MnDOT for review. This process led to the development of a recommended alternative. This alternative is currently being evaluated against the previous design, which included the full replacement of the bridges over the BNSF Railroad tracks. In June, the City submitted a request for $23,000,000 through the 2024 Capital Bond Program for construction. The request will be reviewed during the next legislative session.   The 2023 legislative session awarded the City $1,000,000 through the 2023 Local Road Improvement Program (LRIP) Bond program to further project development. In September, the City submitted a request for $10,800,000 through the Minnesota Highway Freight Program for construction. Awards will be announced in early 2024.

The recommended layout was presented to the City Council for review. The project team provided updates to the public during a public open house meeting on December 1, 2023 to discuss the current recommended layout. In December, the City applied for construction grant funding through the 2024 Regional Solicitation. Awards will be announced in late summer 2024.

The project team continued development of the environmental documentation, and started final design of the Staff Approved Layout, and conducted remaining geotechnical borings for the bridge and retaining wall structures. The environmental documentation work included development of an Alternatives Analysis Report, initial noise modeling, and coordination with stakeholder agencies.

After some additional alternatives analysis, the project team developed a new, preferred recommended layout. To view the current recommend layout, click  here . The project received $10,800,000 from the Minnesota Highway Freight Program.

30% construction plans were completed.

The project was recommended to receive $10,000,000 from the Metropolitan Council Regional Solicitation grant. Official notification will be received this fall.

60% construction plans complete.

100% construction plans complete.

Construction will not occur until the project has received complete funding.