Speaker 4, an unidentified county staff member, told commissioners the county has several road projects already in design and that 1st Street (from Road to 45th East) is a near‑term candidate to advance. He said the project is currently entering right‑of‑way acquisition for a three‑lane design but that engineering could be revised back to a previously prepared five‑lane design.

“Right now, that project is just starting the right of way acquisition for the 3 lane,” Speaker 4 said, adding that the 3‑lane budget is roughly $4,600,000 and that two five‑lane cost estimates had been explored at about $9,500,000 and $11,300,000. He said prior commissioners directed a narrower five‑lane section to fit within an 80‑foot right‑of‑way if possible.

County staff and several meeting participants pressed on trade‑offs. Speaker 4 said an 80‑foot right‑of‑way would accommodate travel lanes, curb and a 5‑foot sidewalk immediately adjacent to the curb but would not allow a separate landscape buffer or the 6‑foot planting strip included in a 100‑foot section. “The 80 foot kept it within an 80 foot wide right away,” he said. “Our normal arterial road standard … we want at least a 100 foot.”

Speakers also discussed multimodal and maintenance implications. The transcript records that 4‑foot clearances are insufficient for dedicated bike lanes and that a 5–6‑foot width is typically required for safe bike facilities. Staff raised winter maintenance concerns—snow removal and sidewalk clearing—when larger curb and landscape sections are added.

Environmental reviews and railroad crossings complicate a full conversion to five lanes. Speaker 4 noted portions of the corridor are “stuck in environmental right now” and warned that railroad‑crossing accommodation adds substantial, uncertain cost to a five‑lane build; the transcript contains an unclearly worded estimate described as “close to half $1,000,000,000,” which staff did not clarify during the meeting.

Speaker 4 asked commissioners for direction to tell the local technical advisory committee and the engineering firm whether the county is on board with redesigning and bidding the corridor as a five‑lane roadway. No formal decision or vote on the redesign was recorded in the transcript.

Next steps noted in the meeting: continue right‑of‑way negotiations (a contract had been signed for the 80‑foot option), coordinate design and signal work with adjacent city sections, and pursue joint grant applications and staged engineering so designs are grant‑ready when funding windows open.