In September 2018, Polk County held a workshop on its County Road Safety Plan (CRSP). The CRSP is a joint project developed by the Minnesota Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, and County Engineers to improve safety on roadways outside the seven-county Twin Cities metro area.
Two projects were discussed during that meeting, the urbanization of County Road 11/Fisher Avenue into Crookston and installing Restricted Crossing U-Turns at points along Highway 2.
FISHER AVENUE
The Fisher Avenue project was initially planned to be completed this year. “Originally, it was supposed to be constructed in 2020, and that’s what we were pushing for,” said Sanders. “We have local road improvement program bond funds and the local option sales tax that will be used to pay for it. The plan is quite extensive because it’s an urban plan with a lot of different little details, so it’s taking a little longer to get that plan done.”
When complete, Fisher Avenue will feature three lanes for traffic, one heading in each direction, with a center turn lane. Curb and gutter will also be installed east of Drafts Sports Bar and Grill to Highway 2. The intersection at North Broadway and Barrette Street will also have rapid flash beacons installed for pedestrian safety that will strobe when pedestrians are entering or on the crosswalk.
RESTRICTED CROSSING U-TURNS
Highway 32 will also be detoured next summer on County State Aid Highways 49, 12, and 41 as the Minnesota Department of Transportation puts the first of several Restricted Crossing U-Turns (RCUTS) on Highway 2 in Polk County.
When completed, those traveling on Highway 2 will still be able to make left turns onto Highway 32, but those traveling along Highway 32 will have to use the RCUTS rather than driving straight across four lanes of traffic on Highway 2, explains Sanders. “They’ll be closing the median to north/south traffic,” said Sanders. “You’ll still be able to make a left turn off of Highway 2 onto Highway 32. But if you’re going to go straight through on Highway 32, you’ll have to make a right, go down the road about 1,400 feet, make a U-turn, come back and make a right to go north if you were heading north.”
RCUTS are designed to reduce both injury and fatal crashes at intersections but can also increase efficiency said, Sanders. “It’s a safer intersection,” said Sanders. “It can also be more efficient because to merge, make the U-turn, and merge back in could be less time then it would be to wait for the gap you’re looking for to go straight across all four lanes. It’s definitely going to be safer because you don’t have to worry about the T-bone crashes at the intersection itself.”
Additional RCUTS in Polk County have been proposed at U.S. Highway 2/Business 2 in East Grand Forks, and U.S. Highway 2/U.S. Hwy 75 North by the University of Minnesota Crookston.
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