Road torn up on Douglas

By Anna Jauhola
As work progresses in the North Douglas Avenue neighborhood, residents along the other streets in the project won’t have to worry about construction likely until August.
Bill Berg, on-site resident project representative for Moore Engineering, said temporary water has been installed from the east on Douglas Avenue to Birch Avenue North. On Friday, July 11, the construction crew was working on that intersection.
“It’ll be another week to week and a half with the pipework,” Berg said of this portion of the streets project. “Next week, they’re going to start installing sewer on the same stretch.”
Crews ran into a couple issues early last week when two residents had conflicts with installing temporary water pipes. Berg said both issues have been resolved – one just wanted to be present and crews worked with the other to get water installed. So all residences that needed it now have temporary water.
The entire project, as it sits, encompasses five sections of street – North Douglas Avenue, four blocks of Fourth Street South, one block of Third Street South, two and a half blocks of Fifth Street South and Holly Avenue. Total reconstruction of these streets include pavement and subgrade removal, replacing utilities, water, sanitary sewer and storm sewer, rebuilding subgrade and paving with asphalt, and new curb and gutter.
Berg said it’s unclear when the next crews will get here, or which street they’ll start on as they are on a project in Warroad. However, it will likely be in August before anymore roads are blocked off and torn up.
In conjunction with the end of this street project, some other sections of streets will be milled and overlaid with bituminous.
Knife River Materials is the subcontractor that will pave the reconstructed roads. They submitted a quote to also do repairs to sections of other roads throughout town, including on Birch, Columbus, Bryan and Cedar avenues, and Third and Fifth streets, and at the corner of Forest and Fourth.
During the regular city council meeting on Monday, July 7, the council approved Knife River’s quote of $93,453. These are the worst spots Utilities Superintendent Dan Larson could think of. Most of these projects are mill and overlay with bituminous pavement. The project at the corner of Forest and Fourth will mill down pavement that is causing water to pool in an alley.
A quote from ReitRock Paving, Crookston, was $4,600 more, Larson said. The board may not spend that much, and will further discuss which projects are the most feasible.

CONSTRUCTION ON NORTH DOUGLAS AVENUE is concentrated on the east end last week. This photo was taken at the corner of Birch Avenue and Douglas Avenue where workers were getting ready to lay new sewer and water lines.
(Enterprise photo by Anna Jauhola)