Local and Federal Road work will be taking place throughout the City of Crookston from now into September. A few minor projects have already begun and will flow traffic to other areas of the city.
City of Crookston Public Works Director Brandon Carlson discussed which roads will be shut down and how long. “We have two contracts, there is a local contract and then a federal contract that rotates every three to four years with Crookston and a few other small communities,” said Carlson. “The local contractor is Davidson Construction, and their projects have been going on for about two weeks now. Their projects are going on at Grant Street and Stephens Drive.”
Carlson talked about what is happening at those projects and a timeline on when they’ll be completed. “Those streets are getting completely reconstructed,” said Carlson. “Stephens has been sub-cut, and hopefully, by the end of the week, they’ll have all the gravel in. It looked like they were removing the blacktop on Grant earlier this week, so hopefully, in the coming days, they can get that sub-cut as well and back-cut by the end of the week.”
The federal project takes place on North Front Street, Fourth Avenue North, Riverside Avenue, Central Avenue, and Elm Street. The determining factor in what makes a project local or federal has to do with what kind of road. If it has yellow strips in the middle of the road, it’s considered a state road and therefore a federal project; if there are no strips, then it is a local road and local project.
The timing of the federal project has been moved around because of Ox Cart Days coming up in the middle of August. Carlson talked about that and what’s expected in the coming weeks. “North Central is a part of the parade route, so we’re trying to get that portion knocked out before Ox Cart Days,” said Carlson. “Where we move on from there because of the schedule change isn’t 100% certain yet, but North Central is the top priority, and Elm and Riverside will probably follow next.”
Typically, all the cement work is taken care of first, meaning if there is any curb or gutter work required, that will be the contractors’ first project.
The Federal projects are just Mill & Overlay projects that Carlson says should be taken care of sometime in early September. “All the federal projects are just Mill & Overlay projects,” said Carlson. “They’ll take the top two inches off the road and replace it with two new inches of a fresh layer. Those are scheduled for the beginning of September to take place, and the completion date for all of them is the 17th of September.”
All projects are on schedule as of now, as construction is one of few businesses that can thrive without rain. Due to the lack of rain this summer, construction projects have had few to no delays. The federal projects will be prep work until September to get the roads ready for the Mill & Overlay.
Carlson didn’t have the exact date for the local projects, but they should be completed sometime in the coming weeks. Most of the areas will have the road closed signs up, and traffic will be asked to go around the projects unless you live where the construction occurs.
