MnDOT has informed us that it will fill in the rumble strips to the Canadian border in July.
I have contacted a few people who live on Highway 61 and they say that the filled in strips are not as noisy, but the noise still awakens them at night. They still want the rumble strips removed completely.
Last fall, 192 families living along the eastern half of Highway 61 provided 327 signatures, and identified many problems created for them, as well as the bikers and pedestrians who use this highway for recreation. The majority of these Cook County residents wanted rumble strips removed!
They never should have been installed in the first place; since Highway 61 is a Class 4F highway (forest/recreation) and has special protection under NEPA-chapter 30-1 which requires both an environmental study, and public hearings, per FHWA regulation 23 CFR 771.117(b). MnDOT did not do this!
Our state representatives should address this issue of accountability and whether MnDOT has ignored federal law and regulations, as I believe they have done.
If you live along the Highway 61 corridor and have had your life changed by rumble strips, then please contact our Cook County commissioners and let them know.
I am also awakened at night from a mile away!
Charles Flickinger
Hovland
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