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Project Background and Description Reconstructing County State Aid Highway (CSAH) 17 has been identified as a need by Anoka County since 1991. An Environmental Assessment (EA) completed in 1996 documented the need to reconstruct a 10-mile stretch of roadway, from CSAH 23 (Lake Drive) to CSAH 18 (Crosstown Boulevard NE), and provided an assessment of the anticipated social, economical, and environmental effects of doing so. The EA also provided agency and public coordination documentation in order to secure state and federal approval of the improvements and to acquire the needed permits for reconstructing the roadway. Since the original EA was completed, segments of the 10-mile stretch have been reconstructed. Improvements such as additional through lanes, dedicated left and right turning lanes, a center median, a separated bicycle/pedestrian trail, and signals at several major  intersections have been completed from CSAH 23 to CSAH 14 (125th Avenue). This reconstruction has addressed the transportation needs on approximately four miles of roadway.
In 2005, Anoka County applied for, and received, a grant to widen and reconstruct the segment of CSAH 17 from CSAH 14 through CSAH 116 (Bunker Lake Boulevard). The federal funding received from the grant will be used on the proposed project. Over ten years have passed since the original EA was completed. Because there has been a significant gap between the completion of the original EA and construction of this project, the county is required to complete a new environmental document. In doing so, the county will revisit the needs and deficiencies of this segment of CSAH 17 as well as develop and evaluate alternatives for improving the roadway. Using input from project stakeholders and technical analyses, the county will decide what improvements need to be made along the corridor and will document the anticipated social, economical, and environmental effects of the improvements in the new Environmental Assessment.
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