Highway 101 construction now open | Chanhassen News

Freeway 101 reopened on Oct. 15. 

Photo by Lydia Christianson

After years Inside the making, Freeway 101 reopened Oct. 15, to the delight of drivers, public officers and companies.

Enchancment on the highway, between County Road 61 and Pioneer Path, started in March 2020, with the highway closing to by way of visitors in Might 2020.

A pair of of The final construction Inside the multi-phased improvement enterprise included curb and gutter placement, paving, roadway striping, signal placement, and final grading and seeding.

The highway, which was beforehand two lanes, has elevated to 4 lanes. The enhancements to Freeway 101 have been made To deal with safety and operation considerations, Based mostly on Charlie Howley, metropolis of Chanhassen director of public works and metropolis engineer.

Through the enterprise, sightlines and entry administration for intersecting streets have been improved. Sharp curves Inside the highway have been eliminated and ought toers have been included. Now that tright here are 4 lanes, Tright here’s extra ease of journey, Howley said.

“That is typinamey a minor arterial road so It is implyt To maintain A Great quantity of visitors quantity,” Howley said.

Freeway 101 is a thoroughfare. It permits visitors from Shakopee and fullly different parts of Scott County to extra effectively entry Freeway 212.

In accordance to Steve Lillehaug, Shakopee public works director and metropolis engineer, Freeway 101 connects Every thing of Scott County to Carver and Hennepin County. Roughly 20,000 automobiles use that connection a day, he said.

The detour over the previous couple of years hasn’t been best, “however everyone survived it so It is An excellent connection and good opening again up,” Lillehaug said.

Wright hereas Lillehaug famous that Freeway 101 Isn’t in his jurisdiction, he lived in Chanhassen for 20 years And positively noticed the highway’s safety considerations. It was a windy road down the hill with restricted sightlines, he said.

“It’s going to be good for the communities Inside the area To reinforce The safety in that hall,” Lillehaug said. “Aesthetic sensible it simply appears super up tright here …congratulations to our neighbors to the north.”

Wright hereas Freeway 101 Shall be reopened, that doesn’t imply the enterprise is full. In early spring of 2022, as quickly as grass has been established, the bluff space Might have new timber planted to reforest The world, Howley said.

Enterprise

Kelly Lorenz, widespread supervisor of The Mustard Seed Landscaping and Backyard Center in Chanhassen for over 10 years, remembers listening to tire squeals on the sharp curve on Freeway 101 wright here the store is located. Tright here Can be accidents and automobiles crashed into their fence.

“We’d hear tire squeals Very typinamey all by way of the day, Of people not realizing that, You understand 15 mph signal was pretty right,” Lorenz said.

Through the closure of Freeway 101, Lorenz would hear about people’s frustration Once they acquired here into the garden center. Clients would name to ask The biggest Method to get to The middle. A phrase that was widespread To Take heed to was “wow it’s super exhausting to get right here,” she said.

Fortunately, the frustration didn’t have An unrestricted influence on the garden center’s gross sales. In the springtime, Individuals are Looking forward to circulateers and greens, so their spring season gross sales have been nonethemuch less strong, Lorenz said.

Lorenz is wanting forward to the highway’s reopening So as that tright here is extra ease of entry to the garden center and Individuals are much less confused.

“Just that freedom to circulate and getting some people again into their regular routes and routines of simply driving up and down that road,” Lorenz said. “It’s going to be Barely extra useful for them to sprime in.”

Kelly Lorenz, The general supervisor of The Mustard Seed Landscaping and Backyard Center in Chaska, documented the current stripping on Freeway 101. 

Photo courtesy of Kelly Lorenz

Amidst the enhancements to Freeway 101, the garden center “caught The development bug,” Lorenz said with Amusing. The center has carried out paving work in its yard so that the pathways by way of the storeping space are clear and extra nice, she said.

In accordance to Howley, the enterprise is “one factor We ought to always rejoice … It is An monumental deal.”

The Freeway 101 improvement enterprise additionally provides multi-use trails alongside the hall. 

Photo by Lydia Christianson

An important factor to know is that the Freeway 101 improvement enterprise additionally provides multi-use trails alongside the hall. Tright here are connections from Flying Cloud Drive to the Minnesota River Bluffs LRT Regional Path, which additionally connects to downtown Chanhassen, Howley said.

“It’s A great linking connection for the trail system,” Howley said.

The enterprise totaled $29 million, with Chanhassen contrihowevering about $3 million. Almost all of The prices have been coated by Carver County using numerous discovering sources, collectively with MnDOT turnagain funds. Freeway 101 Was a state highway however was “turned again” to the county, Based mostly on earlier reporting.

A ribbon-slicing ceremony is deliberate for The prime of October.