DULUTH, Minn. (Northern News Now) – Construction has officially begun on Woodland Avenue and Hartley Park in Duluth.
Woodland Avenue
The project is set to improve Woodland Avenue between Snively Road and Anoka Street in Duluth.
Crews will repave approximately 1.5 miles of Woodland Avenue and construct new curbs and gutters.
To improve safety, the road will change from two lanes in each direction to one lane each with a continuous center turn lane, and a bike lane will be added.
Other safety improvements include enhanced pedestrian crossings at the entrance to Hartley Nature Center and Minneapolis Avenue. A sidewalk will also be added from the Hartley entrance to Northfield Street.
For most of the project, Woodland Avenue will remain open. Drivers should expect lane closures and possible delays.
Woodland Avenue is expected to close for three weeks between St. Paul Avenue and Northfield Street. Those exact dates have yet to be determined.
The project is expected to be done by the end of August.
Drivers are reminded to slow down and stay alert when traveling in or near construction zones.
More information about the project can be found here.
Hartley Park – Hartley Green Infrastructure Project
St. Louis County is partnering with the City of Duluth on the construction of a series of stormwater basins near Woodland Avenue just north of the entrance to Hartley Park.
These will help capture and filter stormwater runoff.
A portion of existing storm sewer pipes under Woodland Avenue will be replaced to redirect stormwater runoff to the new treatment system, which will temporarily store runoff and release it at more controlled rates with pollutants removed through settling and filtration.
The filtration basins are designed to hold water for less than 48 hours to minimize the creation of a mosquito breeding habitat.
Officials say the results will include cleaner, cooler water and reduced erosion, improving the wildlife habitat and water quality of Tischer Creek.
Construction of this stormwater “green infrastructure” system, which includes 5 acres of basins as well as improving the vegetation on eight acres north of the basins, is a joint County-City project led by St. Louis County, funded by a $500,000 Clean Water Partnership grant from the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources and $1.5 million in federal Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funds overseen by the US Army Corps of Engineers.
More information on the green infrastructure project can be found here.
Click here to download the Northern News Now app or our Northern News Now First Alert weather app.
Copyright 2024 Northern News Now. All rights reserved.