Waite Park Intersection to Become Roundabout

WAITE PARK -- Stearns County and the city of Waite Park have agreed that a busy intersection near Mills Fleet Farm should become a roundabout.

County Engineer Jodi Teich says the city council agreed at a recent work session that a roundabout is the preferred design and her department agreed.  Teich says a traffic light at the intersection of Highway 138 and 28th Avenue wouldn't be a good long-term solution due to rising traffic counts and traffic back-ups.

Now, Teich says they'll get to work on setting the stage for construction in 2020.  County staff will handle the project design in-house and get started once they can get out and survey create project specifications.

Teich says the cost of the project will be approximately $1-million plus right-of-way costs. She says the two governments will split the cost of construction with Waite Park paying for right-of-way acquisition.

Next up, both parties will look to determine how to pay their share.