Downtown construction season begins in Waconia

Construction of Waconia’s latest major downtown project is anticipated to begin this week. The city was out earlier in April distributing memos and information such as project area map, construction schedules, and parking lot access to affected businesses and property owners.

Stage 1 work includes Main Street from just east of Elm Street to Spruce Street, and Pine Street and Spruce Street from Main to First Street. Work on Stage 2, the remaining project area to the west, will begin approximately in mid-June, according to the construction memo. The full project is expected to be mostly complete by November.

Tree removal work will occur first over the entire project area. Other construction work will generally progress as follows: traffic control and detour setup, erosion control set up, light pole removals, temporary water system setup, removal of the roadway, other miscellaneous removals, and then installation of underground utilities and new roadway, including placement of aggregate base material, new concrete curb, and new bituminous pavement. Final work will include restoration of sidewalks and driveways; signing, striping, and lighting; and final turf restoration and site cleanup.

Access to front building entrances will be limited during specific construction activities. Informational flyers will be handed out door to door for any special construction related activities such as watermain shutdowns. All efforts will be made to minimize the time of water shut-offs and road closures, according to city officials and project managers.

The following individuals have been assigned to work with property owners during closure for project questions and special delivery/pickup or access needs during closure periods:

• Colin Quinn, on-site contact (763) 349-4450, email: colin.quinn@bolton-menk.com

• Ryan Johnson, project manager (952) 426-8335, email: ryan.johnson@bolton-menk.com

A job trailer also has been set up in City Square Park, with meetings/office hours slated each Thursday from 3 – 4:30 p.m. for property owners and business owners to get updates on the project or to discuss concerns with the construction staff. The first meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 2.

Finally, there is a project website with information and updates linked to the city of Waconia website or at this address: https://clients.bolton-menk.com/waconiadowntown/ . The website also contains a sign-up to receive email and text message updates.