Do injury crashes lead to road reconstruction? Minnesota engineers say not necessarily
ROCHESTER — Three years ago, a 15-year-old boy was crossing the street near Century High School when he was hit by a car.
A week later, an Intersection Control Evaluation was completed and reviewed. Construction for the now-roundabout intersection began less than a year later, leaving many to assume that the crash impacted the project's timeliness.
According to Rochester's Traffic Engineering and Operations Manager Sam Budzyna, it didn't.
"We were going to do it anyway," he said.
The Viola Road Northeast intersection at Cassidy Drive Northeast and Century Hills Drive Northeast was on the city's radar since a 2017 analysis showed that the intersection would eventually need improvements based on the area's residential development, Budzyna said.
By 2021, the Intersection Control Evaluation concluded and recommended that the four-way intersection be reconstructed into a single-lane roundabout, which aimed to shorten pedestrian crossing distances, improve traffic operations and reduce the number of crashes.
Previously, pedestrians had to cross four and two turn lanes to get across Viola Road.
In a joint effort with Olmsted County, the city had funding programmed for a final project design in 2022 and construction in 2023, according to the city's website. From start to finish, the project took six years.
Although a serious crash can call attention to a location, the years-long process of redesigning a road or intersection is never conceptualized from one event.
"Crashes can happen anywhere at any time, and one crash is not indicative of major safety issues, especially if the crash involved a medical event or impaired driver," Budzyna said. "But when reviewing the circumstances surrounding a crash, we may identify certain high-risk attributes at the location that should be mitigated."
Typically, the project conception stems from studies or analyses that identify a need for improvement in a certain area, Budzyna said. Engineers often look at the projected growth of an area or private development projects to determine where to conduct a study.
For example, Budzyna said, when Cub Foods on Commerce Drive Northwest was built, the city conducted a traffic study to identify necessary improvements for the area. The length of a turn lane on West Circle Drive was then extended. Other studies may address future operational problems that the city and county can address earlier.
Once a problem area is identified, the planning process can begin.
According to Mark Trogstad-Isaacson, a principal project manager at the Minnesota Department of Transportation, various design standards are followed based on the type of roadway, volume of traffic and speeds. Engineers work to find a resolution that would mitigate the preexisting safety concerns without creating new ones later.
"What is happening at a roadway determines what kind of criteria and standards we use to design the road," Trogstad-Isaacson said.
In the initial plans for the 2027 reconstruction design of Highway 14 and Broadway Avenue intersection, the idea of a roundabout dominated some of the conversations. Engineers from MnDOT and the city continued to evaluate the intersection, which sees 50,000 vehicles pass through daily and has the highest number of crashes at an intersection in Rochester. While a roundabout could work today, Rochester is growing, which means a three-lane roundabout would be necessary, according to Cindy Morgan, MnDOT's public engagement coordinator.
A redesign was drafted and shared with the community at a public meeting. The new proposal included dual left turn lanes to give drivers turning left more space to hang into the through traffic lanes and traditional right turn lanes that would ensure the turns are slower and safer.
"Right now, we're working on what we are building," Morgan said. "Once we have the what, then we get to do the how."
Only after the design is finalized and budgeted can construction begin.
For the roundabout near Century High School, construction began in June 2023 and was completed just after the start of the 2023-24 school year.
"At this point in the school year, we've had little to no complaints about this intersection from students or bus drivers and have seen a positive impact for our walking students," Dustin Morrow, Rochester Public School's director of transportation, said via email.
Budzyna said improving safety is always the first goal. While it's impossible to make everyone happy, he said, they continue to work to reduce speed limits and make the streets safer.
"People think that we're supposed to be making it so people can get wherever they want to go as fast as they can," Budzyna said. "I'd rather make sure that everybody gets where they're going safely."
