Baxter businesses press MDOT to change 'button-hook' design for Highway 371/210 interchange; MDOT warns funding could be lost

Chamber of Commerce president Matt Killian told the Baxter City Council at a work session that the local business community is overwhelmingly opposed to MDOTs preferred "button-hook" design for the Highway 371/210 interchange and urged the agency to revise the plan before municipal consent is considered.

"We are not nor have we ever pushed to kill the project," Killian said, adding that the chamber and area businesses want a different design that preserves access and visibility for customers. He said a June/July survey of local merchants drew responses from about 70 Baxter businesses; "60% rated the proposed design as poor," he said, and "71% want changes." Killian also said 240 businesses had signed a regional letter and 104 Baxter businesses had signed a local coalition letter asking for changes.

Killian framed the issue as one of local economic survival, saying business owners worry about both short-term losses during construction and longer-term declines if customers cannot navigate to storefronts. He urged the council to press MDOT to explore alternatives, delay the municipal-consent vote if necessary, or identify specific design tweaks to reduce backtracking, lower vehicle speeds at conflict points and preserve more direct access to commercial frontage roads.

MDOT engineers and the design team responded that the button-hook alternative was selected after screening dozens of concepts because it best balanced safety, traffic flow and direct access across Highway 371. "We believe the button hook design offers the best overall balance because it addresses the core things that we consistently hear about: safety, traffic flow, ability to cross 371, and access to businesses," a state representative said during the presentation.

The MDOT team described refinements added since earlier outreach: right-in/right-out movements were reinstated at some cross streets, pedestrian facilities (a new pedestrian bridge and a tunnel under part of the design) were added, and clearance and signing adjustments were proposed to aid wayfinding. Derek, a WSB engineer on the design team, explained why some simplifications that sounded appealing on paper would not meet geometric, grade or safety standards once three-dimensional grades and ramp lengths were modeled.

MDOT also stressed program and schedule constraints. Staff said the project is eligible for Corridors of Commerce funds scored in 2023 and that construction is targeted for 2028. "This funding here would go away," a MDOT representative said when asked what would happen if municipal consent were withheld; the agency explained funds would be reallocated to other projects on the 2023 list and that reapplying in a future round would be a substantially harder lift for the city.

Council members pressed both sides on specifics: whether vertical grades near the railroad permit moving the bridge or tightening roundabout spacing; whether signage and logo-sign programs could make navigation simpler; and whether the corridor could be engineered to lower overall speeds. MDOT officials acknowledged some requested changes had already been incorporated in updated layouts, but reiterated that access-spacing guidelines, crash data on left-turns and the 3% vertical-grade limits at signals restrict what can be changed without creating new safety or operational problems.

The session did not produce a breakthrough. City staff reiterated that a public hearing on municipal consent is scheduled for Nov. 3 and that state law allows council deliberation for up to 90 days afterward; staff indicated a Feb. 1 date had been identified internally as a practical "drop-dead" target after which municipal consent could be considered approved if no final decision is recorded. The council will continue to receive MDOT responses to the technical questions raised at the session and may revisit municipal consent at upcoming meetings.

Separately during the meeting the council approved an omnibus consent agenda of routine city items and adopted a resolution to open a public hearing on an unrelated development easement. The council later approved a closed session under Minnesota Statute 13D.05 subd. 3 to discuss potential litigation on a stormwater matter.

Next steps: the formal public hearing on municipal consent is set for Nov. 3; council members and staff said they expect continued technical exchanges with MDOT and further opportunities for business input before a final municipal-consent decision is taken.