Rosland Park Pedestrian Bridge Replacement

Council reviewed the bids and construction schedules for the project at last nights City Council Meeting. They instructed staff to bring back a contract with a June 1, 2027 completion. This would save $1.1 million compared to a December 1, 2026 completion date. They also want to partially clad the project in the architectural panels. The partial cladding includes the bridge and transitions to railings along the access ramps. A contract will be awarded after we have a signed cooperative agreement from MnDOT. Thanks

Staff will be having a discussion with council on April 21 regarding the bid results. All the required user groups at MnDOT have signed off on the final plans. This included an ADA review. Staff bid the project with 3 build options with 2 schedules. This was done to create options for the contract award that best meets budget and construction timing. Build options were no cladding, partial cladding ( bridge only), and full cladding (bridge & ramps). 4 contractors bid on the project. Two completion dates were bid, December 1, 2026 and June 1, 2027. The December 1, 2026 completion date was approximately $1.1 million more expense and the June 1, 2027 completion date. Staff would recommend the June 1, 2027 completion date. Lunda Construction was the lower bidder for all three-build options using the June 1, 2027 completion date. Using the low bids and adding total project costs such as the steel truss and engineering, the following are the total project costs.

1. $7.6M No Cladding
2. $8.0M Partial Cladding - Bridge Only
3. $8.4M Full Cladding – Bridge and Ramps

Budget: Recall we secured $6.2M in various state funds for this project. A funding gap exists ranging from $1.4 (No Cladding) to $2.2M (Full Cladding). Staff is willing to use a combination of Municipal State Aid (MSA) and Pedestrian and Cyclist Safety (PACS) funds to cover the no cladding gap. Using these funds will delay a sidewalk along Olinger Boulevard and delay a few smaller MSA maintenance type projects. It will also use PACS funds dedicated to the Prospect Knolls Project.

If council requires the full cladding option, closing the funding gap becomes much more impactful to infrastructure due for maintenance. We would have to delay the Wooddale Avenue Bridge Replacement Project from 2029 to 2030, delay two bridge beam painting projects on the Benton Avenue and Valley View Road bridges over CPKC Rail from 2030 to 2031, and delay Hillary Lane Reconstruction from 2031 to 2032. The delays to MSA projects will continue in out years.

Staff would recommend a June 1, 2027 completion date with no cladding

The tree removals are scheduled Monday, March 23. Only trees in public City or MnDOT right-of-way will be removed. We are not removing any trees on private property. Tree clearing is recommended from November 1 to March 31 to protect endangered bat species, specifically the northern long-eared bat. This window also helps prevent the spread of diseases like oak wilt and protects nesting birds. The contractor will place plywood to protect the street near the trees. They will access the site from Valley View Road and St. Johns Avenue. Thanks

There was some confusion on a recent project update. The update stated council would consider a tree removal contract on March 3. At the time, we did not know if the contract value would be above or below $20,000. Council is required to approve all contracts above $20k. In this case, the low bid came in at $13,500. That does not require council approval. Staff can approve that contract. I apologize for not updating the website last week when this become known. The contract has been approved. Only trees in public City or MnDOT right-of-way will be removed. We are not removing any trees on private property. Tree clearing is recommended from November 1 to March 31 to protect endangered bat species, specifically the northern long-eared bat. This window also helps prevent the spread of diseases like oak wilt and protects nesting birds. Tree removals are scheduled to occur before March 31. Thanks

Staff has requested quotes from tree contractors to remove 0.20 acres of trees within the project area on the north side of Highway 62 by March 31. Access for this work is from 64^th Street. The contractor is required to submit a street protection plan to be approved prior to work occurring. Any disturbed areas are required to be stabilized with hydro-seed and mulch. Any fence removal to gain access to the work area from 64^th Street will be re-installed. Quotes are due February 23. City Council will consider award of the contract on March 3. Thanks, Chad Millner.

We are in the final steps of official MnDOT approval of the project. The project will go out for bids in late February or March. Alternate bids will be collected. Cladding is one of the alternate bids. Construction is planned for 2026 with or without the cladding based on discussions with the Council related to bids and budgets. Tree clearing along the north side of Highway 62 will occur before the end of March.

On December 4, 2025, MnDOT held a noise wall community meeting related to noise walls near the Rosland Park Pedestrian Bridge. These noise walls are related to the westbound Hwy 62 auxiliary lane and shoulder widening project. They are located along the north side of Hwy 62 from approximately West 62nd St. to Valley View Rd and along the south side of Hwy 62 from approximately West 64th St. to West Shore Dr. Project details can be found here. https://www.dot.state.mn.us/metro/projects/hwy62edina/ Specific properties had an opportunity to vote for or against noise walls. The results are in. Both walls will be constructed based on the voting results. Voting results can be found here. https://www.dot.state.mn.us/metro/projects/hwy62edina/nbi.html.

At the September 16, 2025 City Council Meeting, staff provided the council with a project update. Many discussions have been occurring with MnDOT on approvals of the new bridge. Update cost estimates were completed and there are concerns with the estimated cost compared to the $6M overall project budget. All the slides from the presentation are posted in the documents section of the website.

Design of the Rosland Park Pedestrian Bridge continues. A great team of structural engineers, architects and a bridge fabricator are working on the project to ensure we are the most efficient with our time and better understand construction costs. The project is at a design milestone. It is approximately 30% designed. This means we can submit the 30% plans to MnDOT to start the discussion of requirements over Highway 62. This will be a unique discussion because of the decorative architecture panels. The estimated project cost was updated. Recall the project has a $6 million budget, all state funds. Construction costs and unknowns are increasing and affecting the budget. The project will mostly likely not be able to afford stairs features or be able to bury the overhead power lines. The cost estimate will be revisited after our discussions with MnDOT. Thanks, Chad Millner, City Engineer.

A bridge fabricator has been hired and added to the team. Discussions continue on lots of details related to the steel truss bridge, landings, ramps, architectural panels, and user experience. The unique nature of the bridge requires us to figure out those details before engaging MnDOT on the bridge design. There are two major items affecting project budget – potential stairs and the camber of the steel truss bridge. Now that we have a bridge fabricator on the team, cost estimates will be more actual to determine what can be included in the project.