County secures $24.7M for Zimmerman interchange

The U.S. Department of Transportation has announced that Sherburne County will receive $24.7 million to complete road construction at Highway 169 and County Road 4 in Zimmerman, according to a press release from Sherburne County. The project is designed to improve traffic flow, increase safety and remove the only remaining traffic signal between Rogers and Onamia.

This project will:

• Reconstruct about one mile of Highway 169 and approximately a half mile of County Road 4.

• Create a grade-separated interchange.

• Install two reduced conflict intersections.

• Construct three roundabouts.

• Remove six at-grade access points.

• Develop multiuse trails/sidewalks.

“I am extremely happy to see this project move forward,” Sherburne County Board Chair Gregg Felber said in the statement. “This will be a major improvement in highway safety for all of Minnesota – literally saving lives once it is completed. We could not have completed this project without our wonderful federal partners, proving once again that the safety of our Minnesota highways and county roads is of utmost importance.”

The intersection of Highway 169 and County Road 4 has long been a safety concern for vehicle and pedestrian traffic. Studies have shown that the planned intersection improvements will alleviate long traffic delays seen especially on weekends and greatly enhance safety for pedestrians, the press release stated.

“This is awesome news,” said Sherburne County Commissioner Lisa Fobbe, who represents the city of Zimmerman. “We started working on this critically-needed safety project nearly a decade ago. With these federal funds, we should now be fully funded, with the project now moving to final design and construction.”

Felber and Fobbe cited a coordinated effort among local, state and federal partners to secure the funding.

“I would like to thank our city partners, our federal representatives, and our state legislators for their tireless work in support of this project,” Fobbe said. “These improvements will benefit not only Zimmerman and Sherburne County, but also the larger region and, indeed all of Minnesota.”