Board approves County Highway 15 improvements, awards $4.56 million contract and OKs partnerships

The Washington County Board of Commissioners approved multiple actions to advance the County Highway 15 roadway improvement project in Lake Elmo, West Lakeland Township and Baytown Township, including a budget amendment, award of a low construction bid and agreements with local partners.

Public Works project manager Mike Klein told the board the project (County Road/Bridge 2684) includes pavement rehabilitation, added center left‑turn lanes at four intersections, conversion of Eighteenth Street to a cul‑de‑sac, replacement of signs and pavement markings, and resurfacing a short stretch of trail. Design work considered a future corridor widening; staff said permanent stormwater ponds were not feasible on the corridor because soils were unsuitable and pond sites would conflict with a future widening. Instead, staff negotiated a memorandum of understanding with Valley Branch Watershed District to fund part of the watershed district’s down‑lake water quality improvement project (for example, an iron‑enhanced sand filter) in lieu of on‑site stormwater ponds.

Construction bids opened July 8; the low bidder was Bituminous Roadways Inc. at $4,564,713.95. Klein reported total project expenses including a 7% construction contingency, permitting, and tree removal of $4,970,908. He said additional highway state aid revenue from the motor vehicle lease sales tax (MVLST) gave the county flexibility to add funds to this project.

Board actions: the board approved a budget amendment described in staff materials as decreasing local contributions by $225,000 and increasing highway state aid funds. (The transcript includes inconsistent increase figures recorded at different points; staff earlier referenced $927,300, while later roll‑call language included other numbers; see clarifying details.) The board also approved contract number 17557 with Bituminous Roadways Incorporated in the amount of $4,564,713.95, cooperative cost share agreement number 17455 with West Lakeland Township, and the memorandum of understanding with Valley Branch Watershed District.

Comment and context: Commissioners said the corridor needs work because of increased development, traffic and nearby airport runway expansion. Several commissioners praised the creative partnership with the watershed district to meet stormwater treatment requirements without building permanent on‑site ponds that would conflict with future roadway expansion. Public works staff noted sustainability practices on the project, including pavement reclamation and reusing materials on‑site.

Votes: motions to approve the budget amendment, contract award, cooperative agreement and MOU carried by voice or roll call as recorded in the meeting. Commissioner Cox led the contract and agreement motions; discussion on the budget amendment included acknowledgement of the project exceeding the capital improvement plan estimate but being supportable with the MVLST revenue surplus.

Implementation: staff said remaining MVLST surplus not used on this project would be allocated to future pavement projects. Construction schedule and definitive start date were not specified during the presentation; staff identified this as in the project timeline and permitting steps.

Financial and technical clarifications: the low bid and contract amount are recorded as $4,564,713.95. Staff presented a $4,970,908 total project expense estimate including contingency. The precise increase to highway state aid recorded in the transcript varies in different spoken motions/roll calls; staff materials cited $927,300 but the roll call later used a different figure. The board approved the amendment as presented on the agenda and proceeded with contract and agreement approvals.