An initial okay for the bridge design on the new North-South Overpass Project was given July 27 by the Staples City Council.

The bridge, to span both the Burlington Northern- Santa Fe Railroad lines and the four lanes of Highway 10 on the west side of Staples, will be about 400 feet long and 58 feet wide, according to Jeff Johnson, engineer with the SEH engineering firm, which along with WSB Engineering, is providing the advance planning for the project.

The city council, with six of the seven being male, was given the choice of choosing brick sizes and

color shades. That seemed

a daunting task to some. “My wife doesn’t allow me

to choose colors,” Stan Carlson confessed.

Nevertheless, they decided to go with a brick size and a tan color that roughly matches the color of the city’s entrance signs and the brick of the Staples railroad depot.

The road across the bridge will have two 12-foot driving lanes, a 12 foot wide turn lane and also have a 12 foot wide portion for a walking/biking trail. The roadway across the bridge will also have shoulders four feet wide.

Council members JoEllen Reeck and Joel Quance each asked questions related to the design affecting the bridge’s cost. Reeck wanted to know if the brick made the overall cost more expensive. Johnson replied that a brick finish will be more expensive than smooth concrete. He estimated the extra expense was less than two or three percent of the bridge cost, but that the bricks, which will be made of concrete, have a rougher surface which will discourage graffiti more than a smooth surface.

Regarding the choice of decorative lights and light poles on the bridge, Quance asked if that choice increased the cost significantly. Again, Johnson’s answer was that the lights, which will match other new lighting on Highway 10, will amount to less than two to three percent of the overall project cost.

Don Flaten asked if there were bridges close by somewhat like the proposal, with Johnson responding the Sauk Rapids bridge (over Highway 15) was a similar design.

In another matter with the North-South overpass implications, the city council was asked to okay a to petition for re-aligning Judicial Ditch 8 through Staples. Attorney Kurt Deter from St. Cloud, along with County Engineer Loren Fellbaum, described the legal process that needs to take place to realign and improved the ditch.

In effect, the city is asking to combine two ditches. Judicial Ditch 5 and Judicial Ditch 8, into one ditch system. Their petition would allow for a ditch improvement project as well, which means the existing route can be changed or deepened if necessary. The city’s plan is to combine the ditch from the south (JD 5) into the one coming from the north (JD 8) and having both drain into JD 8’s route that flows just north of the Staples Elementary, then easterly parallel to the Warner Road. Judicial Ditch five, which flows through underground pipes under the high school football field and under Fourth and Fifth Streets before opening up in the Northern Pacific Park, would no longer carry the heavy water flow from an area to the west.

The council approved the plan as worked out by Deter and city staff. The city’s petition will be submitted to a Joint Ditch Board, which has three county commissioners from Todd County and two from Wadena County. The joint board will conduct a public hearing, at which time any and all affected landowners can bring up any issues.

Deter and City Administrator Nate Mathews stressed that no individual assessments will be assessed to land owners due to this project. The city expects to pay for this as a part of the overpass construction project as adequate drainage of the area is needed for the road project tot take place

In another matter, the city council:

o LEARNED the city’s goal is to have right of way rights purchased for the overpass project by this time next year. The WSB firm has been contracted to do the right of way purchase work.

Actual construction is not likely until 2012 or later, depending on availability of financing.