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Lake Elmo reviews MnDOT ‘Option 3’ for Highway 36/Keats intersection; city may pay for turn-lane work or redesign if access closes
Summary
Council heard a staff presentation on MnDOT’s Option 3 concept for Highway 36 at Keats Avenue — keeping a right-turn movement and implementing collaborative performance monitoring. Staff warned MnDOT reserves the right to close access later and the city could be responsible for redesign or turn-lane widening costs; council asked for more safeguards and staff will return a municipal-consent resolution next week.
City staff and project consultant Jack Griffin returned to the council Dec. 9 to present ‘Option 3’ for the Trunk Highway 36 / Lake Elmo Avenue project, an alternative meant to preserve a single turning movement from eastbound Highway 36 to southbound Keats Avenue while allowing MnDOT to monitor performance and safety.
Griffin said MnDOT provided additional funds to extend the south frontage road but proposed this Option 3 to stay within an existing right-of-way footprint and to avoid delaying a targeted June 2026 construction start. The concept would include performance monitoring (crash review, wrong-way incidents and turn-lane queuing) and a cooperative construction agreement that memorializes how the agencies will evaluate incidents.
On responsibilities and costs, staff said MnDOT is asking that the city pay to lengthen a deceleration/right-turn lane on Trunk Highway 36 if it cannot be included in the state project; staff had no final estimate for that work. Griffin warned that MnDOT reserves the right to close the access if monitoring shows operational or safety problems, and that the city would likely be responsible for redesign and closure costs if closure is required.
Council members pressed staff on safeguards and appeals: one council member asked whether the city would have a formal appeal route if MnDOT later decided to close the access and require the city to fund redesign; Griffin said the agencies proposed a collaborative review but acknowledged MnDOT included language reserving closure rights. Council members also discussed eliminating certain left-turn movements to reduce queuing onto Highway 36 and noted local traffic generators (for example, an expanding Rock Pointe Church) that should be considered in further design.
Next steps: staff recommended, and council indicated comfort with, bringing a resolution of municipal consent for Option 3 at the next council meeting and then continuing design work and a cooperative construction agreement to document monitoring and responsibilities.
