by Logan Gruber
operations@thenewsleaders.com
Two neighborhoods in St. Joseph will see their streets get a facelift this summer.
The work will take place at Clinton Village, on the west end of Minnesota Street, and Northland, an area west of Northland Drive and south of Iris Lane.
Most of the work will consist of edge-milling and overlaying with 1.5-inch of bituminous, which are the areas outlined in yellow on the maps. This basically means they will grind out a 6-foot-wide section of each lane of traffic to approximately 1-inch deep, and fill it in with new material.
Some of the work will also require the construction crews to completely dig out all of the asphalt and replace it from the ground up, which is more intensive and is done if the road is in particularly bad shape. This area is covered in diagonal yellow lines within the yellow outline on the maps, and is a much smaller area than the other.
The projected cost of the Clinton Village work is $351,500, while the cost for the Northland work is projected at $341,160. The city will subsidize 47.9 percent of the Clinton Village and 45.5 percent of the Northland work from the budget, and will conduct a special assessment on frontage property in the affected areas to cover the rest of the cost.
The work should add approximately 10 years to the life-cycle of the road, according to the city engineer.
The city council approved the plan on May 4 with a vote of 5-0, though there was opposition to the planned work.
Some of the opposition came because residents do not believe the road needs patching and a proper appraisal was not made.
“A full appraisal is not conducted unless an appeal is made,” said Tom Jovanovich, the city attorney
He said an appeal can be made to the Stearns County Courthouse, but only within 30 days after a written objection is submitted to the city. The objection must have been made before the close of the public hearing that night.
Many of those present were not very happy about having to decide before the close of the hearing on whether to object, especially since an appeal would require hiring an attorney. Some thought the idea of objecting was pointless at this juncture in the process, but would have liked to object earlier.
Some were unhappy with the project as a whole, instead telling the council they should hold off on the road work for a few more years, and then replace the whole road.
The contract was awarded to Knife River Corp. of Sauk Rapids.
Construction is planned to begin after July 4, and end in October of this year.
The area outlined in yellow will have a small portion of the street milled away, and a 1.5-inch overlay placed on top, whereas the areas which are filled with diagonal lines will be completely removed and reconstructed.
The area outlined in yellow will have a small portion of the street milled away, and a 1.5″ overlay placed on top, whereas the areas which are filled with diagonal lines will be completely removed and reconstructed.
