Apr. 23—The Austin City Council on Monday night, during its work session, got an early look on possible adjustments to drainage concerns on Interstate 90 in coordination with the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s drainage study on the roadway.
City Engineer Steven Lang laid out several options that might be looked at in the future that would approach flash flooding challenges that in the past have closed the interstate after heavy rainfall events at times.
Specifically, that area ranges from 11th Drive to Sixth Street, but is mainly confined to the area beneath the railroad bridge.
Options ranged from renovating existing drainage systems that drain into Dobbins Creek and the Cedar River to establishing new drainage areas including a possible retention pond located on the north side of the interstate on land across from the Kwik Trip truck stop.
Lang stressed that some of these options were better than others, but also that it’s possible that solutions could be combined to find a better solution.
He also stressed that this was early in the process and was just an opportunity for council members to get an idea of options and maybe start thinking about which way they wanted to go.
“We’re a year down the road at minimum,” he told the council.