Richard Samuelson was elected to the Goodhue County Board 17 years ago.He has worked ever since to make U.S. 52 safer for his constituents and the more than 18,000 vehicles that travel the stretch of highway through Goodhue County each day.Samuelson’s diligence has paid off during the past year.
After years of pleading with Minnesota Department of Transportation officials and state and federal politicians, funding for an interchange south of U.S. 52 and County Road 24 in Cannon Falls was finally approved. The interchange will eliminate the last two stop lights on U.S. 52 between the Twin Cities and Rochester. Construction on the $32 million project is slated to begin in 2013.
And, earlier this month, Samuelson was named Transportation Advocate of the Year by the Minnesota Transportation Alliance.
“I am really humbled,” said Samuelson, of Cannon Falls. “I never ever dreamt I would get an award for this. I wish I could do more. Sometimes I feel like I should do more.”
Fellow commissioners, constituents and other Goodhue County employees say that Samuelson has been an instrumental advocate for safety improvements along U.S. 52, which runs through his district.“Richard has always said this isn’t spending money, this is an investment in our future,” said Greg Isakson, Goodhue County engineer.
But the 78-year-old commissioner said his job is far from over.
Though portions of U.S. 52 are a freeway, a large swath of U.S. 52 is still a divided highway with at-grade crossings and private driveway access points that force drivers to cross or pull into oncoming traffic without a ramp, interchange or traffic signal.Officials hope to turn U.S. 52 into a freeway from the Twin Cities all the way to Rochester, but that will take years and an estimated $800 million, according to information from the Highway 52 Freeway Partnership.
In the meantime, MnDOT will continue to look for high-benefit, lost-cost safety improvement projects, said Kristine Hernandez, MnDOT public affairs official.
“Highway 52 is an important interregional corridor,” Hernandez said. “It’s highly traveled and plays a critical role in moving people and commerce.”
Considerable progress has been made on U.S. 52 since 2002. That year, 19 of the 20 slated interchanges for the highway between the Twin Cities and Rochester were not funded, according to the Highway 52 Freeway Partnership.
Today, 10 of the projects are either complete or fully funded and three are partially funded. The remaining seven interchanges — four of which are in Goodhue County — have yet to receive funding.
“I don’t know how long it will take to see the vision in its full and final stage,” Isakson said. “It’s too dangerous, and we’re just going to keep working on it.”
There have been more than 70 fatalities on U.S. 52 since 2000, according to the Highway 52 Freeway Partnership.
In October, three people died within 10 days at one of U.S. 52’s most dangerous intersections at County Road 9.
Doing it right
Samuelson said he and other commissioners now need to make sure the interchange at U.S. 52 and County Road 24 is “done right” and that changes continue along the 52 corridor.
Isakson said Goodhue County is in the process of finalizing a location for the “southeast collector,” a road that will help improve access around the interchange and to a new medical center expected to be constructed in 2013.
Officials are also studying the county road system and how it intersects with U.S. 52 from Cannon Falls south to Hader.
“The current layout of 52 is antiquated,” Goodhue County Commissioner Dan Rechtzigel said. “It’s incredible there aren’t more accidents. It’s really a hazard waiting to happen.”
Dorothy Samuelson has lived along U.S. 52 for more than 50 years with her husband, Charles, Richard Samuelson’s cousin.
She admits there are times of the day when pulling out of her driveway onto the highway are more difficult, but she feels like people who live in the area are better able to navigate the busy road than other drivers.Dorothy Samuelson said she knows certain parts of the highway need safety improvements, but she thinks officials should do a better job of planning so people who live along the highway know what to expect and aren’t forced to drive miles out of their way when their direct access is cut off.
“We’re older now and want to move closer to town,” she said. “But who is going to come and buy a home along here when they don’t know what kind of changes will be coming with all these roads?” – Courtesy Rochester Post Bulletin
Goodhue County Commissioner Richard Samuelson is pictured along U.S. 52 in Cannon Falls. Samuelson recently received the Transportation Advocate of the Year Award from the Minnesota Transportation Alliance.
