With a public information meeting scheduled for March 7 on the Hwy. 61 project slated for 2027 through Hastings, the Hastings City Council got a sneak peak of project details and offered their input at their meeting on Monday, Feb. 20.

On Tuesday, March 7, the public is invited to view the plans between 5 and 7 p.m. at Hastings City Hall. A formal presentation is scheduled for 5:15 p.m.

The project is a rebuild of the road and many intersections from 4th Street to 36^th Street.

Bryant Ficek, MnDOT South Area Engineer said through planning, Hastings community identity was taken into consideration.

“It was what do we want this to be and how do we want this corridor to reflect MnDOT’s goal which is to move traffic but also reflect the community,” he said. “The goal is to have better safety, better mobility and incorporate the work you’ve already done,” Ficek said. “We listened to the businesses and the residents. We tried to incorporate all that information. It’s been really rewarding to see the vision we’re developing for Hwy. 61.

The project is broken down into downtown, midtown, Vermillion River and southtown areas, and each are treated differently, depending on their amenities and traffic situations.

Plans are for a stand-sized roundabout at Hwy. 316 and a traffic light at 17^th or 18^th Street.

Project consultant Tim Thoreen said community surveys and interviews showed support for the roundabout.

“There was support for a full-size roundabout, not so much interest in a compact roundabout, but full size was acceptable,” he said.

In many areas, bike routes will be on adjacent streets, such as Ramsey or Eddy in the downtown area.

Traffic counts through downtown are 31,000 vehicles per day and only drop to 27,000 at the Vermillion River. Two-third of those vehicles then proceed to Hwy. 316, with 7,300 staying on Hwy. 61,

Peak traffic is 7:30 a.m. and peak truck activity is at 2 p.m.

In the last five years, there have been 300 accidents on the road, with 51 of those at or near the 10^th Street and Hwy. 55 intersections.

“That kind of pricks up our ears when we have to pay attention to pedestrian crossings. It’s an aggressive corridor. It’s a fast corridor,” said Thoreen.

Driving southbound from 4^th to 36^th Street takes 4.76 minutes. If no work was to be done on the road, that travel time would be projected to more than 22 minutes by 2040.

On the north end of the project, plans are for a more noticeable overhead sign directing visitors to downtown Hastings. There also will be striping on the road to get traffic to slow down.

There will no longer be parking on Hwy. 61, under the plan.

“All Hwy. 61 on-street parking is recommended to be removed. It’s a sight-line hazard. If you’ve got 30,000 vehicles coming through town, parking is not the safest option,” he said.

Medians would be placed, and 5^th and 7^th Streets and those roads would be right turn in and right turn out intersections.

With the median, pedestrians only need to cross half the road, 30 feet, and then make sure the next 30 feet across is safe.

“It’s 75 feet across, curb to curb, and that’s an uncomfortably long time to image walking across four lanes of traffic,” Thoreen said.

In the midtown area, from 10^th Street to 17^th Street, engineers tried to simplify the traffic situation. Under the plan, the light at 10^th Street would be removed, and 10^th Street north of Todd Field could become a plaza area or have other use. That would allow for an expanded turn lane onto Hwy. 55.

“We see a lot of benefit to the closure of the west leg of 10^th Street. It creates an opportunity for some fun placemaking options for the school and community. There could be public space adjacent to Todd Field,” said Thoreen.

There also would be no left turns into the Walgreen’s parking lot from Hwy. 61 southbound.

“We really focused on how we can simplify those movements. One of the things we led with was eliminating those left turns, like from Hwy. 61 into Walgreen’s,” Thoreen said.

The wall at Todd Field will be rebuilt as well, and MnDOT has had dialog with the Hastings Historic Preservation Commission about that project.

There were some questions from the council on closing 10^th Street.

“Do you have numbers on what the traffic level is crossing at 10^th Street?” Councilmember Dave Pemble asked. “I’d like to see those numbers.

Thoreen said he’d have them for the community meeting.

Councilmember Tina Folch said 10 Street has been a good alternative because of the congestion at Hwy. 55.

“You can be coming north on Hwy. 61, and you want to take a left turn on Hwy. 55. That gets so backed up. You’ll go around that left turn lane and go up to 10^th Street. Otherwise, you’re waiting for two light cycles. That’s a big problem area. I’m personally a little freaked out about closing 10^th Street.

The intersection with 12^th Street would be right turn in, right turn out only.

In the Vermillion District, a traffic signal would be put in at 25^th Street. A pedestrian bridge would be built across the Vermillion River.

There’s the potential for a traffic light at 23^rd Street.

“This is where I really see aggressive morning traffic. People are really moving through there,” Thoreen said.

Folch asked why that wouldn’t be planned for now.

“It’s already really necessary,” she said.

“We’ll continue monitoring that location. We don’t see that as an immediate need, compared to other locations like 18^th Street,” Thoreen answered.

The major item in the southtown area is the roundabout at Hwy. 316 and addition of a bike and pedestrian trail on both sides of Hwy. 61.

The access road at Cannon Street would also be closed.

The project cost is estimated at $15-$17 million, with city utility replacement costs in the range of $3-$5 million.

MnDOT pays for the majority of the project, with the city paying its portion and Dakota county paying some as well.

Grant funding is being sought to add amenities to areas around the project.

Folch suggested bringing some elements of downtown to Hwy 61 in that area “to pull the look and feel of downtown onto the Vermillion Corridor.”

“Has there been any talk about the lighting specifically as you come off the bridge?” she asked, noting that it could match downtown’s lights.

“I like the idea,” Ficek said. “Thanks for bringing that up. That’s a great element to move forward.”