New Pedestrian Underpass Ribbon Cutting Oct. 23 in Rosemount

Community members interested in crossing near South Robert Trail and Highway 3 now have a safer alternative of using the new pedestrian underpass.

The underpass is below Highway 3 near the Rosemount Community Center.  It provides the safest crossing of the highway between Connemara Trail and 145th Street West, an area that includes the high school, middle school, and Rosemount Elementary, according to a news release from city of Rosemount.

The Rosemount Youth Commission will host a formal ribbon cutting Oct. 23 of a pedestrian underpass that “will support the safety of students and others when crossing a busy stretch of South Robert Trail/Highway 3,” according to a news release from city of Rosemount.

The ribbon cutting will be 3:15 p.m. Wednesday, Oct 23. Attendees are encouraged to park in the Community Center parking lot and walk south on the trail to the underpass opening on the west side of Highway 3. Representatives from the city, Rosemount Middle School and Rosemount High School will join the event.

Construction crews worked in July and August to build the structure, which includes sections of precast concrete 14 feet wide and ten feet high.  The highway was closed for a weekend in early August to allow excavation of the road and placement of the concrete.

The underpass project cost approximately $900,000, paid out of Municipal State Aid funds.  Planning began almost ten years ago, as traffic in the area increased and the GlenRose residential development grew on the east side of the highway.

Along with providing safe routes for current pedestrians, the underpass is part of a larger regional plan for the area eventually to develop a trail system from Lebanon Hills Regional Park to Downtown Rosemount and then east to the Mississippi River.