Tri-County News

Kimball road to be closed temporarily


The Kimball city council and Maine Prairie Township board of supervisors met in a special meeting Tuesday night, April 18, to discuss the fate of 83rd Avenue, a street jointly owned by the two governmental bodies.

The road had forever been a gravel road, and it was paved around 2005; no one can seem to remember exactly how or why, it just was. Problems were noticed soon after, and two years later were brought up with Knife River, but that went nowhere. 

The road developed lots of spider cracks, and this year the spring thaw brought a crop road chunks being heaved up onto the roadway, in several spots along the half-mile length of the road. 

Caution signs were put up at each end of the road last week, but many cars, bikers, and pedestrians are still using it. A seven-day survey showed average daily use of 168 cars, which surprised the township board that it was used so much. Much of the traffic is drivers using the road as a shortcut to avoid going through Kimball itself. There are no homes or driveways along this portion of the road, and there is another way (135th Street) to reach homes on the dead end beyond this stretch of road.

It had been estimated that it could cost $500,000 to remove, rebuild, and repave 83rd Avenue properly. The township received six bids, but these must be thrown out because of a missing form in the process. The township and city hoped to split the cost, but the city?Äôs budget is more strained than anticipated. Having the township pay now, and the city reimburse later, would cause their respective auditors to have fits. This week?Äôs special meeting was to figure out what to do with the road, and how to pay for it.

Here?Äôs the plan, unanimously agreed upon:

?Ä¢ Close the road immediately. As of Wednesday morning, April 19, that portion of 83rd Avenue between County Road 44 and 135th Street will be closed to all traffic.

?Ä¢ Remove the bituminous roadway. The township and city will work together to do this work themselves. They likely will stockpile the removed bituminous to be reclaimed later.

?Ä¢ Rebid the job for just the dirt work portion of the project, returning it to a gravel road with a proper base. Bids will be to a partnership of Maine Prairie Township and the City of Kimball. Bid information may be obtained from the township clerk, clerk.mpt@meltel.
net
. (A bid notice will be in next week?Äôs Tri-County News.)

?Ä¢ Reopen the road and leave it settle for a year, with ?Äúcaution?Äù signs. Road weight limits should not change during the year that is a gravel road.

?Ä¢ Rebid and pave the road next year. Again bids will be to a partnership of Maine Prairie Township and the City of Kimball. 

Both are working quickly to keep the roadway safe for both vehicle and pedestrian traffic, and they are working together on paying for it. All agree that it must be done properly to avoid this problem again. 

 

83rd Avenue on the east side of Kimball is looking tough this spring. As of Wednesday this week, the half-mile road will be closed until the tar is removed and it is reverted to a gravel road. (The bottle in the photo is for scale.) Staff photo by Jean Doran Matua.

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