Lakeville's 185th and Kenwood Roundabout Is Finally Getting a Fix Study

TLDR

• Dakota County approved a $248,200 contract with Alliant Engineering to study fixes at CSAH 50 (Kenwood Trail) and CSAH 60 (185th Street West) in Lakeville.
• County records say this intersection "consistently ranked highest" on its list of crash-prone intersections.
• The work includes an alternatives analysis, public engagement, and 30% design plans.
• Dakota County pays 100% — Lakeville already covered 45% when it was built in 2016.
• Once the board picks a preferred option, the contract gets amended for final design.

If you drive in Lakeville, you already know which intersection this is. The double roundabout at 185th Street West and Kenwood Trail. The one where the lane you're supposed to be in feels like a personal opinion.

On September 1, the Dakota County Board approved a $248,200 contract to figure out how to fix it. It was one of several Lakeville items in a packed meeting.

What the County Actually Says About the Crashes

This is the part worth reading closely, because it's the county's own language in a public document:

The intersection "has had a crash frequency higher than expected for its traffic volume and geometry," and it "has consistently ranked highest on the County's Intersection Crash Listing."

That's not a resident complaining on Facebook. That's the Transportation Department writing to its own board. Highest on the list. Not top five.

Traffic on Kenwood Trail there was about 18,700 vehicles a day as of 2021, and the county projects 34,000 by 2040. Posted speed is 50 mph. Kenwood Trail keeps showing up in county paperwork for a reason — it's also the corridor behind a lot of Lakeville's new development along Cedar Avenue.

What Alliant Is Getting Paid to Do

The scope is preliminary — this contract doesn't build anything. Here's what's in it:

• A comprehensive alternatives analysis. Evaluate feasibility, impacts and comparative benefits of different fixes.
• Public engagement. Develop materials, run meetings, document what the community says about each design option.
• Preliminary engineering plans at about 30% design, including geometrics, drainage concepts and cost estimates.
• Ongoing coordination with agencies, utilities and stakeholders.

Then, once the county board picks a preferred alternative, the county amends the contract and Alliant moves into final design.

So: study, ask people, draw it, decide, then draw it for real. There will be public meetings, and if you have opinions about this intersection, that's when to bring them.

Why Alliant, and Why That Price

The county sent a request for proposals to three firms. County and City of Lakeville staff evaluated them together.

The bids:

Firm	Cost	Hours
Alliant Engineering	$248,200	1,358
Bolton Menk	$148,362	912
Kimley Horn	$367,450	2,063

Alliant wasn't the cheapest. The county's reasoning was that Alliant offered "the most complete, detailed, and integrated approach for addressing project needs, including early stakeholder coordination and strategies for public engagement."

Read that as: they're paying extra for the public process, because this is an intersection people have loud feelings about.

Who Pays

Dakota County covers 100% of this contract.

That's a change from normal. Usually the county and city split these. The reason for the full county share: the intersection was reconstructed ten years ago in 2016, and Lakeville paid 45% of that. So the county is picking up the tab this round.

Lakeville city staff reviewed the proposals and agreed with the selection.

What This Doesn't Tell You

The contract doesn't say what the fix is. That's the whole point of the study.

If you've been following the three options that emerged earlier this year — including whether a traffic signal comes back — this contract is the step that turns those concepts into real engineering and real cost numbers.

There's no construction date. Preliminary design, then a board decision, then final design, then construction funding. That's typically several years.

The Bottom Line

If this intersection has ever made your stomach drop, the useful thing you can do is show up when Alliant runs its public meetings. The county specifically paid more for a firm that promised to run a real engagement process, which means the input is supposed to actually matter.

Watch the Dakota County board meeting page and City of Lakeville channels for meeting notices. The county also has a full CSAH 50 / CSAH 60 corridor study posted if you want the technical background.

This is one of several Lakeville road items in front of the county right now — the board also approved a $404,747 share for building 179th Street West to county standards at the same meeting.