Three weeks after Hovland residents addressed the county board regarding flooding along Otis Creek alongside County Road 16, otherwise known as the Arrowhead Trail, County Highway Engineer David Betts presented a report to commissioners on options for dealing with the problem. Occasional heavy rains overwhelm an undersized culvert where the creek crosses the road, significantly affecting property owners further south where the road intersects with County Road 69 (North Road).
The solution to the problem is far from simple, however.
Betts explained that besides the culvert being too small, it is perpendicular to the road even though the creek enters the culvert at an angle. Some of the water then flows down the ditch and ends up “jumping watersheds” into the Flute Reed River watershed during flood conditions.
Possible solutions
Betts suggested a couple of solutions. The first would be to replace the 49-yearold culvert with a larger, 6’x12’ culvert. The larger size would change its classification and require higher design standards including raising and widening the roadway, and getting approval from the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT). Betts estimated this would cost $350,000-500,000.
This might sound like a good idea, but installing a bigger culvert would carry more water to two other undersized culverts – one at Highway 61 and the other south of the highway where Otis Creek crosses Stonegate Road, a private road. This would cause flooding in those locations, resulting in the possibility of water crossing Highway 61 and 12 private parcels on Stonegate Road becoming isolated if that road washed out.
Installing a 6’ x 12’ culvert under the Arrowhead Trail would still not stop flooding in the event of a 100- or 500-year flood, Betts said. Commissioner Jan Hall, who lives in the area, noted that 50- and 100-year floods keep happening more frequently than every 50 or 100 years. Betts said building to higher standards would not be financially feasible. Even with a larger culvert, flooding east of the Arrowhead Trail would still be possible because of the condition of the creek channel and the presence of what appears to be a beaver dam.
The second solution would be to make deeper and more defined ditches south of the road crossing, requiring the removal of vegetation and trees along the roadway. This would require moving some fiber optic cables at the corner of county roads 16 and 69 and purchasing right-ofway from an adjacent landowner so the northwest quadrant of the road intersection would have a more rounded ditch. Betts also recommended raising North Road a little and ditching on both sides of the Arrowhead from the Otis Creek crossing down to its intersection with North Road.
Betts guessed the cost of ditching might be $50,000-125,000. An August 10 memo to the board stated, “This project could be constructed in 2012 but would have to be performed by a private contractor due to the maintenance crew’s workload. Additionally, the design of this project would tax our design capacities over the winter months and could put other projects in the Five-Year Plan in jeopardy.” Engineer’s recommendation
Betts recommended that the county “work toward” redoing the culvert, but not until improvements are made to the culverts downstream. He also recommended a ditching project in the northwest quadrant of the Arrowhead Trail and North Road intersection and preferably in all four corners of that intersection.
State aid funding would be available for this work, but using it could take money away from other projects already planned for upcoming years. How much state aid funding is currently available won’t be known until after the County Road 8
(Devil’s Track Road) project is complete.
Betts said he thought MnDOT might not approve replacement of the Arrowhead Trail culvert at this time because of the effect it would have downstream. Even if they did approve, Betts said, “I don’t believe it’s right to move one problem onto another problem….”
Betts suggested that the county consider giving Stonegate property owners about two years to find funding to install a bigger culvert. Grants are available for such projects, he said. Board’s decision
Commissioner Bruce Martinson made a motion to proceed with the ditching project as recommended by Betts, to be completed in 2012. Jan Hall, however, suggested that the board give the affected property owners a chance to discuss the issues first. At her request, Martinson withdrew his motion. Hall will meet with property owners before the county takes any action. Fifth Avenue West project
Edwin E. Thoreson, Inc. was awarded a contract for ditching and roadwork on Fifth Avenue West with a bid of $53,337.81. The other bid was from S. J. Bautch Construction in the amount of $62,412. Betts said the work should be completed by September 15.
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