The summer of 2020 is shaping up to be a busy construction season for city projects! While there are several projects to address growth of the city, the vast majority of projects that will be completed this summer are for maintenance and rehabilitation of existing infrastructure. To give you an idea of the amount of infrastructure in the city that needs to be on regular maintenance and replacement cycles, here are some statistics for the city:
Miles of street: 1,160 lane miles
Traffic Signals: 122
Miles of water main: over 500 miles
Miles of sanitary sewer main: over 500 miles
Miles of storm drain pipe: 300 miles
Facilities (lift stations, pump stations, water treatment plant, wastewater treatment plant, etc): 35
When you pair this amount of work with our short construction seasons, it can seem like there is construction everywhere. On top of that, there are state, county and private projects trying to construct at the same time. So, while we know construction can be a hassle, we appreciate your patience while we do our best to keep our systems in good shape. Here are some of the projects you may come across this summer:
· If you head to the landfill, notice the new scales and transfer station. The project will be completed in September and you will be able to drop off your waste in the building! There is also work being done on the road.
· The water and sanitary sewer systems have replacement projects on 1st Avenue North from Exposition to 15th and 24th to 33rd; the neighborhood west of Division to 7th Street West between Grand and Broadwater; and on 1st Avenue North from Exposition east on Hwy 87.
· King Avenue East from Orchard to Jackson and Wicks Lane from Bench to Hawthorne will both be widened and have sidewalks/trails added.
· Chip seals, overlays and street reconstructions are happening in the Wanigan Subdivision (Shawnee, Radford Square); the metal streets (Copper, Silver, Gold, Vickery); the hospital corridor; Lake Elmo from Main to Pemberton; Governors from Wicks to Babcock and all of Senators; 14th Street W between Grand and Lewis; the triangle west of S. 27th between State and 1st Ave S; Jackson Street from King Ave E to State Street; 17th Street West from Grand to Rimrock; 32nd St W from King to Monad; and Zimmerman Trail from Poly to Rimrock.
· New or improved signal work is being done at Grand & Virginia; King Avenue W and 36th ; and Overland & S. 24th Street W.
· An exciting project is happening downtown too. Both N. 30th and N. 29th from 6th Ave N to Montana Ave will be converted from one way streets to two way streets.
· The city is constantly working to make walking and biking safer in our community. We have pedestrian signals being installed at the roundabouts on Shiloh Road; Rimrock and Arvin; Lake Elmo and Milton; and Barrett and Kiwanis Trail.
· We will be filling in the missing sidewalk segments along 11th Avenue North between North 22nd Street and North 27th Street. Also, ADA improvements will be completed at the corners along 4th Avenue North from Division Street to North 13th Street.
