Here is a sign of the times:
In case you can’t quite read it, the sign says “Pioneer Trail Closed starting June 21″. In case you didn’t know, Pioneer Trail will be closed, starting June 21st, for the better part of the next twelve months to allow for the construction of a bridge. The bridge will take Pioneer Trail traffic over Hwy. 169 traffic, which will turn (almost turn, anyway) Hwy 169 into the bona fide freeway that it ought to be.
I say “almost” because there are two more projects that must also be completed before we can drive Hwy 169 unabated by traffic signals in the Hennepin County. One of those projects is just up the road a piece from Pioneer Trail at Anderson Lakes Parkway. Next year, MnDOT will build a bridge at this intersection to take Anderson Lakes Parkway traffic over Hwy 169.
The other project to enable Hwy 169 to become fully freeway-ized is at its intersection with 494. The project needed at this intersection (including Highwood Drive in Bloomington) is truly massive. There is a design for it. There is money appropriated for it. It’s on the calendar to do, but the year for the project is not yet set. We’re working on making that sooner rather than later.
And in case you’re wondering if the Pioneer Trail project will really get started on Monday, take a look at this:
This is a photo looking north at the NW quadrant of the Hwy 169/Pioneer Trail intersection. If you look really closely into the background you’ll see a bulldozer already at work.
Let’s Get Things Started, indeed.
