Delano reviews Highway 12/County Road 30 traffic study; interim right‑turn lane recommended

Traffic consultants and Delano staff on Tuesday outlined near‑term and long‑term solutions to persistent congestion at the Highway 12 and County Road 30 intersections, and the City Council gave direction to pursue the study's next steps.

City Engineer Shawn Louwagie introduced the Highway 12 corridor study; Joe DeVore of KLJ said signal timing adjustments by MnDOT have reduced delays but congestion remains and additional timing tweaks offer limited benefits. DeVore said long‑term solutions favored under growth scenarios include single‑lane and hybrid roundabouts at key intersections.

For the near term, DeVore recommended adding a second right‑turn lane on northbound County Road 30 that would extend past Holiday, cross the river bridge and merge back into traffic before the business access. "The additional lane would allow vehicles to accelerate, find a gap in traffic, and merge more efficiently while reducing delays at the intersection," DeVore said.

DeVore noted the lane is intended as an interim improvement until a larger MnDOT project currently anticipated for 2031. He also said Wright County is pursuing a Carbon Reduction Grant to assist funding future intersection work.

Councilmembers asked operational and access questions: Jason Franzen suggested restricting right turns on red during peak periods rather than full‑time; Becky Schaust asked about access configurations near Tiger Drive; and Todd Belz raised concern about westbound traffic turning into Holiday. Louwagie and DeVore said the proposed lane would distribute turning traffic and improve safety and operations.

The Council expressed support for continuing to explore the project and directed staff to proceed with next steps, including coordination with Wright County and pursuing applicable grant opportunities. No formal motion or vote was recorded at the workshop.