Residents and visitors to Austin can expect to see orange signs and cones on Oakland Avenue and Highway 105 starting May 9 as crews begin repairing the road.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation is looking to refurbish portions of Oakland Avenue West and 12th Street Southwest, which is part of their system.

The $1.8 million project is about three miles long, from Interstate 90 to south of 11th Avenue Southwest. Ulland Bros. of Albert Lea. is the contractor. Work being done will include removing a layer of roadway and replacing it with a fresh layer of blacktop, while also improving 72 pedestrian ramps and replacing several storm sewer pipes along the route.

“Most of the work is going to be done under traffic, while traffic is still moving,” Austin Public Works Director Steven Lang said.

The main detour affecting residents will start on May 16 and will be at the intersection of Oakland Avenue West and 12th Street Southwest right by Kwik Trip for underground storm sewer work. The detour will last two weeks.

“Add a couple minutes to your commute; drive slowly through the residential areas,” Lang advised for people driving through the construction. “People aren’t expecting this volume of traffic on these lower residential roads, so just go slow and be patient.”

He said there will be workers fixing the pedestrian ramps and it’s important for people to drive slow and look out for construction vehicles.

Other detours may lead through residential areas and Lang asked drivers to be patient and drive slowly as they drive through neighborhoods. Flaggers will direct traffic during lane closures.

Lang said it shouldn’t impact businesses and the only impact would be during the detour of Oakland and 12th Street Southwest when they are working in those intersections for two weeks.

“They will still be accessible,” Lang said.

Traffic will still be able to pass through the construction area with flaggers and business managers are hopeful people will still be able to find them without much hassle.

Sterling Pharmacy Store Manager Jessica Jenkins hopes it won’t be a problem for customers.

“We hope people can find their way in,” Jenkins said. “We do offer free delivery in town. If someone is struggling with that we can help them out that way.”

She added they deliver to a lot of people and if people wanted to avoid the construction, they can call the pharmacy, order their prescription and set up the delivery service.

Habitat for Humanity Freeborn/Mower ReStore Executive Director Brigitte Fisher said the ReStore is a destination for people.

“Our donors and customers are loyal and they will find a way to get to us,” Fisher said. “I’m happy they are improving the road, though.”

She said they anticipate the parking lots and back alley might be a little more congested and they might have some ideas to mitigate the back alley.

Fisher added they typically get about 10 to 30 drop-offs and the summer is usually busier and usually see about 150-200 customers per day from Thursday through Saturday.

Lang also added MnDOT will be doing work on the on-ramp to Interstate 90 from East Oakland Avenue that would have a detour for about one or two days. That work is expected to start within the next week also, he said.

This project is expected to be completed on Aug. 5, four days before the start of the Mower County Fair on Aug. 9.

Detours

Oakland Avenue West will be closed for replacement of storm sewer pipe at the Highway 105 intersection and westbound traffic should use the detour:

• To get from Oakland Avenue West to Highway 105 West, use Eighth Street SW to Fourth Avenue NW to 14th Street NW

• To get from Oakland Avenue West to Highway 105 South, use Eighth Street Southwest to Fourth Avenue Southwest

• Eighth Avenue Southwest and Second Avenue Southwest (westbound traffic) will be closed two days for storm sewer replacement, use alternate route during closure.

Road construction projects

City of Austin

South Main Street (from First Ave Southwest to Third Ave Southwest)

Third Ave Southwest (from South Main Street to Fourth Street Southwest)

Estimated cost: $900,000, this is a state-aid funded project. 

Work being done:

South Main Street

• Replacement of concrete roadway

• Sanitary sewer repairs

• Storm sewer replacement

• Sidewalk repairs and pedestrian ramp construction

• Water main replacement by Austin Utilities

• Gas main repairs by Austin Utilities

• Underground electrical repairs by Austin Utilities

Third Avenue SW

• Widening and replacement of asphalt roadway

• Curb and gutter replacement

• Sanitary sewer repairs

• Storm sewer replacement

• Sidewalk repairs and pedestrian ramp construction

• Water main replacement by Austin Utilities

• Underground electric work by Austin Utilities

When: Third Avenue Southwest starts in June, South Main Street starts after the Fourth of July to accommodate the parade.

 

Third Street NW (from Fourth Ave NW to Eighth Place NW)

Sixth Place NW (from Fourth St NW to First Dr NW)

Seventh Place NW (from Fourth St NW to Second St NW)

Estimated cost: $725,000

Work being done:

• Replacement of asphalt roadways

• Widening of Sixth Place and Seventh Place

• Replacement of curb and gutter

• Sanitary sewer repairs

• Storm sewer installation

• Sidewalk repairs and pedestrian ramp construction

• Water main replacement by Austin Utilities

• Future electric work by Austin Utilities

When: Work to begin mid-May

 

Ninth Street NE (from 10th Ave NE to 12th Ave NE)

11th Avenue NE (from Eighth St NE to 10th St NE)

13th Avenue NE (from Eighth St NE to 11th St NE)

14th Avenue NE (from Eighth St NE to Dead End)

Estimated Cost: $550,000

Work being done:

• Mill and overlay of asphalt on 14th Ave

• Widening and replacement of asphalt roadway on Ninth St, 11th Ave, and 13th Ave

• Installation of curb and gutter

• Sanitary sewer repairs

• Sidewalk repair and pedestrian ramp construction

•Water main replacement by Austin Utilities

• Electrical repairs by Austin Utilities

When: Work to begin in July

 

Fourth Drive SW (from Calvary Cemetery  to County Road 28)

This is a joint project between the City of Austin and Mower County

Estimated project cost: $1.3 million, this is a federally funded project.

Work being done:

• Replacement and widening of asphalt roadway

• Installation of curb and gutter

• Installation of 8’ wide trail/sidewalk on west side of road

• Filling of ditches and installation of storm sewer

• Pedestrian ramp construction

• Sanitary sewer extension south of city limits

When: Begin construction mid-July

 

Alley Reconstruction (from Third Ave NW south to Dead End)

Estimated Cost: $75,000

Work being done:

• Replacement of concrete alley

• Storm sewer replacement

• Underground roof drain connections to storm sewer

• Future electrical upgrades

When: Begin construction mid-September

 

Mower County

•Shooting Star Trail, Rose Creek to County Road 58, $850,000

•County Road 53, from CSAH 12 to 11, bituminous pavement, $1.2 million

•Oakland Avenue at East Side Lake Dam, replace bridge, $2.7 million

•CSAH 1, 0.6 miles east of TH 63, replace bridge, $100,000

•CSAH 16, 0.9 miles south of CSAH 25, replace bridge, $230,000

•CSAH 45, 10th Drive Southeast, reconstruction, $2.1 million

•CSAH 23, Fourth Drive Southwest, reconstruction, $800,000

•CSAH 101, Waltham, bituminous pavement, $125,000

•CSAH 103/110, Elkton, bituminous pavement, $175,000

Grand total: $8.28 million

—CSAH stands for County State Aid Highway.

 

Minnesota Department of Transportation

Project: State Highway 105

Cost: $1.7 million. The contractor has not been awarded yet.

Work: Resurfacing, digging up 3 inches of black top and then putting down fresh black top. They will start on south end of Austin and then come up to the west ramps of Interstate 90. There’s also additional culvert work. There will most likely be short term road closure and short detours, culverts go under the highway from one side to the other.

When: May into July

 

Project: Highway 56 in Adams

Cost: $1.417 million, Icon Constructors, LLC

Work: Two bridges will be replaced and there will be detours to go around that. This is a two-phase project. It will be resurfaced to I-90, in 2017.

When: June 16 to September

For more information on state highway projects, check out the Minnesota Department of Transportation website at www.511mn.org.