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January 20, 2000
Development plan for North Highland unveiledObjective is to open up 200residential lotsBy KREMENA TODOROVA Journal Staff Writer NEW ULM - Engineers from Bolton and Menk, Inc. on Tuesday unveiled a $7.3 million plan for utility and street development of North Highland Avenue that would potentially open up some 200 residential lots. The report, commissioned by the City of New Ulm, discusses options for extending North Highland Avenue from County Road 27 to Highway 14, a 1.3-mile stretch. It examines ways to link the area to current infrastructure and calculates the cost of different construction options. The report also suggests a schedule to phase the improvements over several construction seasons, capping spending at approximately $1 million a year. This schedule would help open up between 40 and 80 residential lots over the next two years, B&M engineers predict. North Highland would be the main artery of the new subdivisions. "The basic direction needed from the city at this point is which phases will be built, how fast, how the construction will be financed, which street layout will be chosen...," said B&M engineer Duane Hansel. "Assessment issues also need to be hammered out at this time." According to Council President Dan Beranek, the plan can begin to be implemented as early as this construction season. City engineers have included some $1 million for North Highland construction in budget requests for 2000. A major land owner in the area, the Diocese of New Ulm, has contacted land developers and drawn preliminary residential development plans. New Ulm acquired the 120-foot right-of-way for the street in 1999. Highlights from the B&M report include: * The plan outlines four potential looks for the future street: a four-lane divided highway with parking lanes ($3 million); a four-lane divided highway with no parking ($2.8 million); a two-lane divided road with parking on both sides ($2.6 million); and an undivided two-lane road with parking on both sides ($2 million). Each alignment would accommodate a bike trail that would loop around New Ulm. * The study also proposes two scenarios for water system upgrades. One, with a $1.7 million price tag, would accommodate the area's future needs with a new 500,000-gallon elevated storage tank. The other option, with a $1.5 million cost, suggests the use of the city's existing water towers and additional booster pumps. * The city needs to build several sewer mains, linking the area to an existing Garden-Payne-Jefferson-Franklin line, the report says. One option is to extend five such lines, at both existing and future streets (8th North, Oak, Elm, 16th North and Maplewood Drive). Another possibility is to limit these lines to two, along 8th North and Maplewood Drive. This option, which is preferred by B&M, carries a $685,000 price tag. "If development patterns or the willingness of some land owners accelerates growth in a particular area, one of the other interceptors could be added in the future to meet these development needs," Hansel says. * The report suggests the possibility of building a temporary gravel surface, to accelerate residential construction plans. Engineers say this surface will be removed when the permanent road is built. The cost is $514,000. * The plan also details some $1.4 million in various storm sewer upgrades and steps to rebuild the intersections of North Highland and County Road 27 and Highway 14.
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