PAYNESVILLE -- The city of Paynesville has been a little busy entertaining state representative and senators who have been visiting the last two weeks to learn about the highly-anticipated state Highway 23 bypass in town.
Last week the city welcomed a senate committee to take a look at their Lake Avenue bonding proposition that would be involved in the bypass' future. Shortly after the committee's departure, the House Capital Investment Committee visited Wednesday to also learn about the proposal.
Mayor Jeff Thompson said the city submitted an initial application for the Lake Avenue project's inclusion in the legislator's upcoming bonding bill because the city could not afford the bypass accommodation by itself.
"We feel (Lake Avenue) is going to be very heavily used and it is not something that we can afford as a city to do ourselves," Thompson said, "especially since it's not us that's gonna be putting the traffic on there... So we're trying to get some assistance there whatever way we can."
According to Thompson, Lake Avenue would be the best option for the bypass to connect to Paynesville. Although Lake Avenue "used to be just a little township road," Thompson said, it will become "the major feeder into downtown."
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While the two visits from legislators were mostly just "fact finding," Thompson said the application "might be a little bit of a stretch" because the legislators' bonding is generally used for trails, parks and college improvements.
On hand between the two visits were local Sens. Joe Gimse, R-Willmar, and Michelle Fischbach, D-Paynesville, and Reps. Al Juhnke, D-Willmar, Dean Urdahl, R-Grove City, and Larry Hosch, D-St. Joseph. Thompson said about six senators and 12 representatives from around the state visited Paynesville during the two meetings.
Thompson said the last official timeframe given for the bypass was 2010. He said that estimate is still up for debate with all the "political football" that has been played on the transportation topic since the August I-35W bridge collapse.
The city expects the project to cost close to $2 million for a road that will be holding up to 2,500 cars a day, Thompson said.
"That is not something we can afford," Thompson said. "We're willing to pay some of it, but not the whole thing."
