During the recent flooding, many residents found it difficult to get from one area of town to another, as it seemed that many of the through streets were blocked by water.

Thursday, July 20, 2000

During the recent flooding, many residents found it difficult to get from one area of town to another, as it seemed that many of the through streets were blocked by water.

Now that the water has long since disappeared, some of the remainders of Mother Nature’s latest surprise are muddy parks, dirt-ladened streets and damaged homes and businesses.

For the most part, Austinites can return to life before all the rain; while some residents still may be cleaning up their homes, the streets are travelable.

Well, almost. There’s still the small matter of road construction.

For individuals traveling along Main Street North these next few days, they may notice a slight difference from what they’re used to; the road has been torn up, making for some difficult driving in the area.

Bonnie Mogen, owner of Bonnie’s Hallmark, said that this latest inconvenience will affect business – specifically Crazy Days.

Mogen said that her business has not been personally affected by past road construction, nor has she as a motorist.

The only construction she noticed was by the old drugstore.

Mogen said that while the construction may cause motorists to take more indirect routes to reach their destinations, it will be worth it in the long run.

"You hope you have faith in people making the decision," she said. "You hope they’re doing it for the good of the town."

One Austinite seemed to think just that, stating that for her, the road construction has been a short-lived inconvenience.

"That’s the way things go," Lori Kimpell said. "It puts us out, but there isn’t much you can do."

Kimpell was more relieved that her house was spared during the recent deluge of rain.

Having lived in San Francisco, Calif., for 20 years, where Kimpell explained that it took 20 minutes to go two miles, driving in Austin is stress-free.

"It’s a great place," she said. "People should be more positive and adapt."

Kimpell added that if it weren’t for the construction, which often causes motorists to search for out-of-the-way parking spots, they might not get the chance to walk as far as they normally do.

As a result, they are now able to explore areas of town that they may have been unfamiliar with.

One aspect of the construction that disappointed Kimpell was the closing of Jim’s SuperValu because of flooding; it’s the only market on the east side of town and now Kimpell has to go farther to do her shopping.

She noted that the construction in that area began well in advance of the flood. Like she said, they had no way of knowing it was going to happen.

Other merchants on Main Street said this is just something to be expected, especially during the summer in Minnesota.

You have to start somewhere, they say. And like anything else, you have to make a mess before things get better. While they haven’t noticed many problems on the routes they take, they said it all depends on where you’re going or to what end of town.

Jon Erichson, city engineer and director of public works, explained that the construction is part of an ongoing capital improvement program; none of the work is storm related.

"It involves street reconstruction and utility upgrades as required," he said.

Costs for reconstruction are assessed to property owners near affected areas. Erichson said residents have been very understanding about the project.