An off-road, multi-use path along County Road 4 from the Luverne City Park east to County Road 9 is no longer viable due to cost and unavailable ground.
Instead, county commissioners approved a plan at their March 2 meeting to pave the existing 8-foot gravel shoulders along that route as part of the Ashby Memorial Path.
It can be done as part of the scheduled improvements to the highway from Luverne to Magnolia in 2022.
Commissioners previously directed county engineer Mark Sehr to consider off-road alternatives at the request of Gene and Barb Ashby who are funding the trail in memory of their son, Chris.
The Ashbys, who live along County Road 4, said highway traffic is heavy at times and requested a path on either side of the county road.
Sehr looked at both sides of the east-west roadway for an appropriate 10- to 30-foot-wide and 1.5-mile-long area to develop into a multi-use trail that would be separate from vehicle traffic.
Cost to design and build the multi-use trail would be $700,000, plus any land purchases necessary for the off-road trail.
“We would impact numerous landowners and I don’t think in a positive way,” Sehr said.
“We would have to buy (land) from them and, because of the location, some would be located in their front yards.”
A path on the south side of County Road 4 would involve nine landowners (two agricultural and seven homesteads). A path on the north side would involve nine landowners (one agricultural, two businesses and six homesteads).
“There are places for a multi-use trail to fit, but unfortunately I don’t think this mile, mile-and-a-half, is one of them,” he said.
Under the department’s five-year road and bridge improvement plan, Sehr proposed paving an 8-foot-wide strip along each side of County Road 4 to keep the multiple walkers, bike riders and runners from veering off the gravel shoulders to the smooth roadway and back again to avoid traffic.
Recent traffic count has 2,700 vehicles using the roadway daily.
Commissioner Jody Reisch also lives near County Road 4 and notices people using the gravel shoulders on a regular basis.
“County Road 4 is used a lot,” he said. “It is often difficult for people to walk or run or bike on that gravel. What they do is jump on the tar real quick, and if they see a vehicle coming, they go back on the gravel again. To me it is almost more dangerous doing the out-and-over than staying on the shoulder to begin with.”
Sehr estimates that paving the shoulders would cost $300,000 which is included in the total road improvement cost of $3.1 million. Federal and state highway funds cover all project costs.
No local funds are slated for the County Road 4 improvement project.
Reisch also noted a 55-mph speed limit is posted through the majority of the 1.5-mile stretch of roadway. The speed increases as vehicles exit the 30-mph Luverne speed zone just east of the city park.
He suggested that commissioners take a look at reducing speed limits in that area.
State statute, however, dictates all speed limits in the state including county roads be set by the commissioner of transportation.
Sehr said he’ll request the Minnesota Department of Transportation officials to complete a speed study to see if reduced speeds along County Road 4 would be feasible.
“They are not going to lower the speed if they think people are not going to go 45 (mph),” Mark said. “They are not going to put 30 mph out a mile because people won’t adhere to it. I think 45 (mph) is very possible.”