TRF Project Update: September 5, 2020
What's happening today?
Highway 59 in Thief River Falls resurface project begins September 8
The project will begin near Falls Cinema and complete near the Holiday station
Motorists on Highway 59 in Thief River Falls will experience lane closures and short-term delays as crews begin resurfacing the highway from First Street to south of 158th Street.
The construction project is designed to address maintenance concerns due to deteriorating pavements. This repair will temporarily resolve the issue with a more permanent fix to be scheduled at a later date. The project is expected to last two days, weather permitting.
Highway 1 and 59 roundabout delayed until spring 2021
The Brooks and Barzen roundabouts, as well as the Highway 1/59 intersection, will be open to traffic on October 9. Three weeks sooner than the intended completion date.
“We had a number of weather delays that pushed back elements of the project,” said MnDOT project manager, Andrea Weleski. “So we made the decision to delay completion of that final roundabout, near the Petro Pumper intersection, until the spring. We understand the community has had multiple construction projects to navigate this summer, and adding another in the spring isn’t ideal.”
Planning to resurface pavement and pouring concrete in November can be challenging given Minnesota’s weather patterns. It can lead to further delays, or require additional repairs in the spring.
“A roundabout is not a project that we can stop half way through and complete next summer. Once you begin a roundabout, you have to see it through completion,” says Bill Pirkl, MnDOT Program Delivery. “In order to avoid a winter-long detour route, we will pause construction on October 9 and pick it up again in the spring.”
Improvements to be complete before then include:
- Final drainage connection to the Red Lake Watershed
- Complete paving of Highway 59
- Concrete placement for trail system
- Trail paving
- Lighting and striping on Highway 59
In October, MnDOT will announce the spring construction schedule for the Highway 1 and 59 roundabout in 2021. When the project begins again, the overall traffic impact will be much lower as the preparation of this construction will be completed this fall.
Project Updates
MnDOT
Hwy 1 Roundabouts in TRF
- This week: Crews placed concrete up to 6th street. They also worked on grading to the Westside Motors entrance.
- Next week: Crews will work on pipe placement on the east edge of the Hwy 59/1 intersection as well as structure placement and grading.
- Traffic Impacts: Motorists will continue to use the detour onto 1st St W.
- Website: www.mndot.gov/d2/projects/2020/hwy1-roundabouts
Hwy 32 Resurface between TRF and St. Hilaire
Hwy 1 Resurfacing east of TRF
- This week: Crews completed the milling.
- Next week: Continued reclaim and placement of entrance pipes.
- Traffic Impacts: Detour onto Pennington County Roads 18, 44, 2, 12 and Highway 219.
- www.mndot.gov/d2/projects/2020/hwy1-resurface
Hwy 1 and 75: Argyle and Warren
- This week: Continued concrete placement in both Argyle and Warren.
- Next week: Milling begins in Warren on Tuesday morning with the paving to follow.
- Traffic Impacts: There will be flaggers and lane closures during the milling and paving.
- Website: www.mndot.gov/d2/projects/2020/hwy75-argyle
Pennington County
Hwy 32 Roundabout at CR 8/Mark Blvd
- This week: The roundabout is open to traffic with the exception of the CR 8 leg which crews have been placing concrete on Marks Blvd connecting to the bridge.
- Next week: Crews will continue work on the CR 8 leg of the roundabout.
- Traffic Impacts: The roundabout is open to traffic except for the east leg of CR 8.
- Website: www.mndot.gov/d2/projects/2020/hwy32-roundabout
CR 8/Mark Blvd route extension and roundabout
- This week: At the Challenger Elementary roundabout, crews worked on striping and signage. The roundabout will be open on Tuesday. At the CR 8 bridge, crews have began grading the bridge aprons to tie into the bridge.
- Next week: The roundabout will be open. At CR 8 bridge, crews will continue work on the approaches.
- Traffic Impacts: The intersection at Pennington Ave near Challenger Elementary is currently closed and a detour is in place. Crews expect the roundabout to be complete before school begins.
- Detour onto Greenwood St, Hwy 59 and 140th St NE
- Website: www.mndot.gov/d2/projects/2020/airport-road-roundabout
Red Lake Watershed
Westside flood damage reduction Projects
www.mndot.gov/d2/projects/2020/westside-drainage-project
- Construct a diversion channel and drainage infrastructure on the west side of TRF. Underground storm sewer will be installed along Barzen Ave and Greenwood St, along with a new sanitary sewer
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Storm Sewer & Force Main Installation:
Crews are installing the main sewer at Hwy 32/Greenwood. There are no detours or closures at this moment for this location but motorists should use caution when traveling near Greenwood Street and Brooks Avenue as there will be large equipment near the roadway as well as shoulder closures on Greenwood.
There are no street closures along Barzen Avenue at this moment. Seeding will begin next week.
Diversion Channel Construction:
They continue to work along County Road 16. Crews are excavating south of County Road 7. Red Lake Watershed expects for the diversion channel to be open and diverting water in the next few weeks.
- Website: www.mndot.gov/d2/projects/2020/westside-drainage-project
- Replace Hwy 1 culvert west of the intersection with Hwy 59
- This week: This work is complete.
- Traffic Impacts: None.
- Replace Pennington CR 7 box culvert
- This week: This is now open to local traffic, use caution. Truck traffic is detoured.
- Next week: Crews expect the detour to be lifted later next week, weather permitting.
- Traffic Impacts: Truck traffic use detour.
Next meeting is on September 8 at 10 a.m., register now:
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Register prior to the meeting and a confirmation email message will be sent with instructions on how to join the meeting. You can also register just prior to joining the meeting.
To join via phone for audio only
- Dial 1-855-282-6330 or 415-655-0003
- When prompted, use Access Code: 146 353 7546
Project questions? Prior to the meeting, attendees can submit questions through the Comment form on the project website. In the online meeting, attendees are able to submit questions through a Chat feature.
Visit: www.mndot.gov/d2/projects/2020/thief-river-falls
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