Residents eager to learn if highway will bypass town and where

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

COURTLAND -- Local officials and Minnesota Department of Transportation representatives tried to answer questions and address concerns about the future of Highway 14 at the Courtland Rec Center Tuesday night.

The debate centered around where to put U.S. Highway 14. It puzzled Rebecca Arndt, communications director for MnDOT's Mankato office.

"I'm sure we have people here wondering where the road is going to go, but it just isn't at that point yet."

That point -- when and if it happens at all -- is about 10 years away, according to the estimates from MnDOT officials.

The Mankato-to-New Ulm section of the federal trunk highway is still very much in the planning stages, Arndt said.

Tuesday's gathering in Courtland served as part of the environmental impact study, which will largely determine whether the expanded version of U.S. 14 will be two or four lanes.

"After that, we'll know where to go," Arndt said.

The open house was the first public meeting held for the section. Another public meeting is scheduled for March 2003. The entire scoping process is expected to end by October 2003.

By the time that time, MnDOT expects to have addressed several issues along the route, including the issues of bypasses for Nicollet and Courtland and intersection safety at the junction of U.S. 14 and State Highway 15, which is just north of New Ulm.

Peter Harff, MnDOT project manager, said the issue of the bypasses isn't even addressed yet, and it won't be if MnDOT can't get additional funding for the U.S. 14 project from the Minnesota Legislature.

Nonetheless, many people from the Courtland area said they found the meeting helpful.

"It helps clear up some of the gossip," said Courtland Mayor Bob Schabert. "But it doesn't clear up speculation because it doesn't tell us where the road's going."

A desire for a four-lane divided highway and a rerouting that would take U.S. 14 just north of town were among the top comments and concerns that Courtlanders shared.

In addition to oral comments, they also submitted their ideas on comment sheets and even marked out their visions for the road on a jumbo-sized sheet of paper showing aerial photos of the proposed route.

MnDOT had set up several visual display boards that detailed several aspects of Highway 14. The displays showed the planned project, identified existing and future conditions as well as deficiencies in the current road and development of alternatives.

One board showed the section of the route that had the most deficiencies in service and safety; it was the section between Courtland and New Ulm. Another board showed that crash rates are at a critical level at State Highway 15, Brown County Highway 37 and State Highway 111 -- which are all in between Courtland and New Ulm.

Another display board described an original destination study, in which MnDOT plans to collect travel information using digital cameras that will track license plates along the route. The study will match the plates between stations to determine traffic and travel times. The information can be used to figure out if Courtland and Nicollet need highway bypasses and to assess travel patterns through New Ulm.

An estimated 75-100 people attended the open house.

"Lots of them were asking when the road's going to come through," she said. "Overall, the funding is not in place. That's 10-plus years out."

Courtland wonders about Highway 14