The lights are green and the intersection of Anderson Lakes Parkway and Highway 169 is now open. Actually, it’s been open for a week or so. I used it for the first time just last week.
This is the view going down the entrance ramp to the south bound lanes of 169. If you’re east bound on Anderson Lakes Parkway, as I was at the time, you need to take a left to access the on ramp. A left turn is a brief trip to the north, which is always a bit disconcerting if you’re really trying to go south, but the ramp makes a swooping curve to the south and provided me plenty of room to accelerate up to the speed of traffic on southbound 169. The landscaping aspect of the project has a ways to go yet, but I’m sure they’ll get back to that in the spring.
The construction contractor for this project is the same one that did the new intersection at Pioneer Trail and 169. These were both complicated projects, but they delivered them on time. Because they were MnDOT projects, I’m not sure if they were delivered under budget or not. It’s good to have this intersection open now. Hopefully, business will return to the commercial center at this intersection that is anchored by Jerry’s grocery store. They’ve been hit hard by the road closures and detours. Now that everything is done, maybe business will get back to normal – or even be better. Let’s hope.
