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MDOT and consultants present 'button hook' as preferred fix for 371/210 intersection
Summary
MDOT and WSB presented a preferred 'button hook' design for the 371/210 interchange that would add an elevated bridge, six roundabouts and frontage roads to separate local traffic from the trunk highway; presenters said the option scored well on safety and access but may affect some commercial properties and will require municipal consent and local funds for enhancements.
MDOT and consulting engineers presented the Baxter City Council with a revised preferred design for the 371/210 intersection on the trunk highway system, proposing a ‘‘button hook’’ interchange that places frontage roads parallel to Highway 371, consolidates access via mid‑block on/off ramps, and uses roundabouts on Highway 210 to distribute traffic.
Eric (MDOT) and a consulting team told council members they screened several interchange alternatives and ruled out the ‘‘do‑nothing’’ and signal‑retaining options after level‑two traffic modeling showed poor performance. The remaining options — including a quadrant interchange and button‑hook variants — scored similarly against the project’s primary objectives of reducing congestion and improving safety. The button hook rose as the team’s preferred alternative once community input and local‑access considerations were weighed.
The design would include a continuous bridge carrying 371 over the railroad and 210, elevated roundabout connections that in places are 12–15 feet above existing grade, multiple retaining walls to limit property impacts, and a trail system placed at the bottoms of those walls to improve pedestrian connections. Presenters said the button‑hook layout would allow many local trips (for example between retail sites) to remain on frontage roads rather than using 371, increasing throughput and reducing conflict on the trunk highway.
Council members and business representatives asked about tradeoffs. Presenters acknowledged the button‑hook would produce additional property impacts in some commercial areas; Eric said the evaluation explicitly flagged impacts to commercial parcels and that those effects are part of the level‑two scoring tables. Presenters also said MDOT policy allows a base percentage of structure costs to be allocated to aesthetic treatments, with any enhancements above that base being a local responsibility.
Staff and the consulting team said project visualization tools will be refined for the next open house (July 22) and for a Chamber of Commerce briefing in early June; municipal consent materials and a cost‑share breakdown will follow later this summer. The team plans a November 2027 letting for construction, with build years projected in 2028–29, subject to municipal consent and right‑of‑way acquisition.
Council members asked for additional travel‑time deltas and modeling that incorporate recently completed traffic studies; presenters said updated travel‑time comparisons (current vs. proposed by direction) are being prepared for the public open house. MDOT and the consultants also said they are evaluating whether to include a pedestrian facility on the 371 structure, and will bring ADA and bike/ped cost‑feasibility options back to the TAC and council for consideration.
The city and presenters emphasized this is the preferred design at this stage: engineering details, property impacts, maintenance responsibilities, and any local betterments remain subject to municipal consent and the formal public hearing later in the municipal approval process.
