It is still a few years away but the Minnesota DOT is wasting no time in filling the public in on a bypass project set to begin in 2016.
The major construction project will relieve flooding problems on Highway 75 near Kent. For years, that stretch has been plagued with flooding thanks to Whiskey Creek.
The flooding lead to tragedy in 1997 when Pam Wagner and her three-year-old daughter Victoria died walking in freezing temperatures after their car became submerged with water.
Kent resident Diana Braman remembers the day well, and knows it is scary driving at night when roads home are flooded. She says, "I don't wanna go down gravel roads I don't know. I don't wanna be stuck in the middle of a field that I don't know."
Signs line the highway warning passersby of the potential danger when the water rises.
Another resident of Kent Maury Kappes says, "All it has to do is rain, like I said, a couple inches and she, it just comes up over top the road."
Whether it is a heavy rain or spring flooding it is a major detour for people like Braman when water covers the road. "I go to the doctor in Fargo once a week always, and I have to go all the way around and up through Aber up 81 and back to 75," says Braman. Her total detour in the midst of serious flooding is nearly 30 miles out of her way.
Thankfully for her and others who live near this area, plans for the bypass project are underway. The realignment will eliminate the need to have flood-related road repairs and detours. It will also ensure that people do not have to drive under that railroad bridge which has limited clearance.
With few details available, everyone awaits Monday's meeting with representatives from MnDOT. There they will be able to ask questions and see an overview of the project and preliminary designs.
Kappes says, "I think it's gonna put people at ease knowing they got a route to Fargo or Moorhead or wherever."
It is an ease several people including Braman are patiently waiting for.
The public meeting is from 5:30-7 p.m. at the Kent Community Center on Main Street.
A presentation on the project is set to start at 5:45 p.m.
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