COUNCIL DECIDES IN FAVOR OF BYPASS

The Pequot Lakes City Council voted 4 to 1 Tuesday night to favor the alternate, around-town route for an expanded Highway 371. Councilman Tom Ryan voted for the through-town route and said "bypass doesn't correct the deficiences that we have now. It may be a safer road in some respects but its also moving the same design outside of town and we haven't solve the problem." Ryan said the next decision is up to the Minnesota Department of Transportation, even after the council expresses 'municipal consent' and that's going to take some time. Councilman Craig Nagel voted for the bypass and said he believed this is what was needed for a long time. Nagel said "if MnDot's forecast is to be believed, what is coming at us in Pequot Lakes in the very new future is a tidal wave of traffic." Nagel said traffic of that magnitude would render the town "virtually inoperative." MnDot will ask the council for a resolution of 'municipal consent' early next year. Construction may start as early as 2015.