Contact
- Claudia
Dumont
Project Manager
320-223-6530
Status
- In process of developing the Environmental Assessment and layout concepts
Description
- Expand to a four lane highway
Communities
- Annandale, Maple Lake, Buffalo, Rockford, Wright County
Funding
- Available after 2019
Project Plan
Future plans for a four-lane expansion of Highway 55 between Rockford
and Annandale in Wright County are in the early planning stages.
Construction of this expansion is not in MnDOT's 10-year plan;
however, planning for right of way preservation needs to occur now.
Design concepts and the Environmental
Assessment began in 2010. This includes:
- A four-lane expressway from the Crow River in Rockford to Highway 24 in Annandale
- An expressway includes at-grade intersections with local roads, and traffic signals at major intersections where warranted by traffic volume and safety considerations
- Limit and close direct access from private driveways onto Highway 55
In 2008, an official map of Highway 55 between
Annandale and Rockford was created to assist with planning for
local jurisdictions.
Congestion
Highway 55 in Wright County is the one of the most heavily traveled two-lane roads in Central Minnesota. Traffic volumes on Highway 55 between Rockford and Buffalo already exceed the threshold for conversion to a four-lane expressway. By year 2010, traffic volumes on Highway 55 between Buffalo and Annandale will also exceed the criteria for expansion to a four-lane expressway.
Safety
A major concern on the Highway 55 corridor is safety. Between January 1998 and December 2008, there were a total of eight fatalities and 27 life-changing crashes on the corridor. The costs to society for the 1,250 crashes that occurred on Highway 55 over this ten year period was more than $71 million dollars.