Sartell didn't do a roundabout this time, they put in a stoplight at the intersection of County Road 133 and County Road 78 near the Sartell bridge. I'm concerned.

If you travel that area frequently, as I do, then you know it flowed pretty well with the 3-way stop. There's a new stoplight installed and running, which has actually slowed everything down so far that I've experienced.

A new Kwik Trip store is being built there, and the assumption is that traffic will be much heavier at that intersection following their opening. With traffic coming from/going to County Road 1 (under the bridge), tons of cars coming in from Highway 10 and vice versa...that intersection needs to flow quickly, and it now takes me longer to get through there.

Sartell New Stoplight Location
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If you've ever tried to drive into Sartell from Highway 10 taking 1st street (CR 29) then you know where the real problem lies - it's at that intersection of Benton Drive, by the old paper mill. There's a 4-way stop there and traffic backs up from 3 directions during peak hours. There needs to be a stoplight there immediately, even before there was a light put in on the other side of the bridge.

In defense of the City of Sartell, they didn't have a stoplight in their budget for the new light at Kwik Trip, but the store offered to pay for 1/2 of the cost to put the light in immediately, so they approved the project. Never the less, there's never been a time more than now to work with the other cities/counties involved, to get a light put in on the other side of the bridge ASAP.

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