FAIRMONT — Plans for reconstruction of Lake Avenue were unveiled at the Fairmont City Council meeting this week.

Wes Brown, civil engineer and project manager, and Jennifer McCoy, transportation traffic engineer, from the Bolton & Menk staff explained how public input; intersection and pedestrian safety; traffic density; and future construction affected the preferred design concept for the 2020 project, which will revamp Lake Avenue from Fourth Street to Downtown Plaza.

“Infrastructure conditions are poor. The pavement is failing. Sidewalks are uneven and broken. Access is difficult,” Brown said. “Those are all things that will be improved with this project.”

“We’ve done quite a bit of public outreach with this project,” McCoy said.

A public open house was held May 9 at City Hall. Later, an online survey that offered several options for intersections along the route drew almost 250 responses from residents, business owners and employees who also suggested priorities.

“The three that rose to the top were rebuilding and reconstructing the pavement, improving safety, including walking and biking, and yet keep traffic moving,” McCoy said.

The traffic volume ranges from about 3,900 vehicles per day by Fourth Street to about 7,300 vehicles per day at the Blue Earth Avenue/Park Street intersection, which also was included in the traffic study, McCoy said, and these volumes will grow in the future to between 5,000 and 9,600 vehicles per day.

“The reason that’s important is one of the things that we were looking at through this project is, could we go from four lanes to three lanes as part of the project improvement,” she said, referring to the design’s two driving lanes and center turn lane. “A three-lane road can support up to 16,000 vehicles per day, so we have the ability to make that change and still have adequate capacity on the road for the future.”

McCoy pointed out that the existing intersection at First, Main and Lake has a critical crash rate, indicating it is the site of more accidents than the statewide average. The intersection also has the highest pedestrian crossing rate on the corridor.

Another upcoming change will be the removal of the traffic signal at Blue Earth Avenue and Downtown Plaza. It has been deemed unwarranted, according to federal guidelines. The light at Blue Earth and Park also will face the same fate in the future when Blue Earth Avenue undergoes improvement.

The two intersections that will undergo the biggest changes are the Lake/First/Blue Earth Avenue and Downtown Plaza/Blue Earth. The proposed design eliminates left turns from First Street onto Lake/Blue Earth and from Lake Avenue onto Main but maintains two-way traffic on First and North Main.

More than half of the survey respondents preferred a mini roundabout at Downtown Plaza/Blue Earth as opposed to a stop sign on Downtown Plaza with through traffic on Blue Earth Avenue.

“This concept really does meet those public preferences for improved safety, enhanced walkability, new pavement and having a bike facility in this corridor,” McCoy said. “It shows the three lanes will work well when you have turns into driveways or turns onto side streets to keep that through traffic moving.”

Mayor Debbie Foster praised the Bolton & Menk team for the amount of time invested in meeting with business owners and residents who will be directly impacted by the construction and changes in traffic flow.

Brown said they wanted to make sure that any reconfigured driveways would work well for the businesses along the corridor.

McCoy said the three-lane concept will end at Downtown Plaza/Park and transition to four-lane traffic.

Troy Nemmers, Fairmont city engineer/public works director, commented on the long-term vision for the roadway.

“As part of the resurfacing that would come for Blue Earth Avenue in the future, we would look at continuing that three-lane all the way through to Highway 15,” he said.

Turning to another matter, Foster read the summary of City Administrator Mike Humpal’s July 8 job performance evaluation, in accordance with governing law that requires that a summary be read at the council’s next meeting.

“The City Council did not reach a consensus on any conclusion regarding the performance of Mike Humpal in the closed session,” she read.

In other business, the council:

o Approved event permits for the Faber’s Plumbing softball tournament Aug. 2-4 at the Winnebago Avenue Sports Complex, a “Support the Troops” tractor ride from Ledyard to the Martin County Fairgrounds on Aug. 17 and the 13th annual Cedar Creek Open disc golf tournament Aug. 9-11.

o Approved a temporary liquor license for the Truman Fire Department to operate the beer garden at the Martin County Fair on Aug. 13-18, and five one-day temporary liquor licenses for the Red Rock Center for events on Aug. 21, Sept. 13, Oct. 12, Nov. 15 and Dec. 13.

o Accepted the low bid of $902,000 from Everstrong Construction of Redwood Falls for the new T-hangar at the Fairmont Municipal Airport, contingent on receiving a federal grant to pay a portion of the cost.

o Authorized the mayor and city clerk to sign a letter of support for a new 72-resident nursing home planned by Lakeview Methodist Health Care Center. Lakeview will use the letter to apply for additional funding from the USDA Rural Development Community Facilities program.

o Recognized 13 city employees for their milestone years of service ranging from 10 to 30 years.

o Heard concerns from residents of Fairmont Square about their proposed rent increase at the apartment building. The increase will almost double the existing rate.