Scott County OKs eminent domain for 77 parcels along Highway 169
“The Scott County Board of Commissioners voted Jan. 16 to authorize eminent domain proceedings on 77 properties along Highway 169, mostly in the areas between and surrounding County Road 14 and County Road 78. Eminent domain is the government’s right to take private property for public projects, such as roads and bridges, through condemnation proceedings.
Scott County officials first gave notice to property owners that right-of-way proceedings were officially beginning with a letter in late March or early April, but four open houses about the project have been held since 2015. As of last week, 77 of those property owners still hadn’t made a deal with the county. According to Deputy County Administrator Lezlie Vermillion, that’s not a typical settlement rate for this point in the process, but then again, it’s not a typical project.
“We just don’t typically have projects of this magnitude,” Vermillion said.
Highway 169 is an interregional corridor. It’s a main artery for mobility and commuting. The goal of the project is to streamline those commutes and make the highway safer by removing the signalized intersection at Highway 41, adding a grade separation with ramps and loops, putting in frontage roads and constructing an overpass, complete with pedestrian and bike lanes. The total construction cost is about $47 million.
“So all the way from county Highway 14 north, it will become a limited access highway,” Vermillion said.”
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Jones, Hannah. Shakopee Valley News 22 January 2018.