City waiting for bids, county’s OK on Morningside

If the bids come in as planned and county commissioners accept them, a two-year construction plan that will connect Morningside Drive and County Road 15 will begin this spring.
The future of plans McLeod County and the city of Glencoe have created to open Morningside Drive’s intersection with the TC&W Railroad’s tracks and connect the two roadways at a roundabout east of the Glencoe-Silver Lake Junior-Senior High School will come into sharp focus next month when bids are opened Friday, March 13. Four days later, county commissioners are expected to decide whether they will approve the bids and allow the long-anticipated project to begin.
The project calls for grading and storm water work to be completed during 2020. Paving the roadway is planned for 2021. Along the way, TC&W will add extended railroad siding track east of Morningside Drive, allowing for the capacity to store rail cars and engines not in use.
Monday, Feb. 10, the Glencoe City Council and representatives of McLeod County discussed the project and heard the latest information in a workshop at Glencoe City Center. County Commissioner Doug Krueger, whose district includes Glencoe, told the council he wants the city on board when it comes time to consider accepting the bids. Last Tuesday, Feb. 4, Krueger expressed frustration at the request for $74,000 in engineering costs for unforeseen circumstances. He said his support for the project was “quite frankly gone.”

(For the complete story, see the Feb. 12 print edition of The Chronicle.)