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Several major road projects are already underway or beginning very soon that will affect just about everybody who drives on county roads or along Highways 8 and 95.

A well-attended construction meeting took place in the government center March 31 bringing township, city, state and county officials and engineers together to talk about project schedules and detours.

Please be patient this road construction season, and plan ahead for delays, Bill Malin, county engineer, reminded everyone. Contractors’ crews are busy doing their jobs and they need motorists to be considerate when driving through their work space.

Projects highlights are:

~ Work along the Chisago City section of Highway 8 is set to begin this week. Barriers will be in place to direct all traffic into the south side of the roadbed, so the westbound or north half of Highway 8 can be rebuilt. This traffic “switch” was announced by MnDOT to happen this week.

Shafer Contracting is the contractor on this project. The end date for this segment of highway improvements is November 1.

Shafer Contracting also has the Center City Highway 8 project....with a May 9 start date scheduled for work to begin in Center City.

MnDOT spokesperson Todd Clarkowski said Center City will also be done “under traffic” just like Chisago City, with travel switching to one side or the other of the highway as work takes place in the opposite lane direction.

~ There will be a signal installed this summer off Highway 8, at the #61 ramp where you exit into Forest Lake.

Turn lanes and median reconstruction are also part of this project. Expect temporary lane closures here. No start or end date was announced for the new signal project.

~ Clarkowski reminded those at the meeting the Stillwater Lift Bridge is having work done this summer and there may be traffic impacts up here if that bridge has to be closed or access into Wisconsin is restricted.

Come August 1 the Stillwater bridge is scheduled to close to all traffic until October, so that replacing decking, lift motors and steel can be accomplished.

~ Highway 95 is being repaired through North Branch from I-35 to County Road 14 on the east edge of downtown. The start date for this project is August 1, so expect major delays that month in North Branch.

County Engineer Bill Malin said traffic counters were activated late last week at the Stacy (#19 and County Road 30) four-way stop to get an idea of traffic numbers there.

Stacy and the county are looking at improvements to the road in that area.

As part of the new Wyoming pipeline connection to the Chisago Lakes sewer treatment plant, the area at County Road 36 near Hwy. 8 is only going to be open to local traffic. There’s going to be extensive pipeline installation work taking place along #36, between #84 where the old Wyoming wastewater facility is, and the highway.

There’s also going to be sewer pipe laid this summer out of Stacy east through Carlos Avery Wildlife Management Area and County Road #19 could be restricted for travel as well.

These sewer pipeline projects are supposed to happen beginning this week at least through June 3.

After the pipe and road restoration work on 19 is completed the pipeline will go in along County Road 77, which runs north-south, and runs by the actual sewer plant.

It was decided at the construction meeting that closing #19 and #77 at the same time simply would not work, so the work crews are being coordinated.

County Engineer Malin also agreed with Stacy’s city engineer that the county needs to delay a scheduled mill and overlay planned for #19 because of the pipeline and utilities work. Malin “promised” the county will schedule the postponed mill and overlay for 2006.

Center City’s County Road 32, which leads to the government center, was substituted for this. The mill and overlay will improve the roadbed from the courthouse around Pioneer Lake to County Road 9.

There won’t be detours, this will be done under traffic.

The state transportation officials learned from county staff that the paving on the east end of County Road #37 should be done and the road open to traffic by Memorial Day.

Meanwhile by Memorial Day or early June the County Road 23 project, south of Chisago City, should be wrapping up and bituminous completed.

County Roads 9 and 18 (Lent Town Hall) are also scheduled for reclaim and pave projects.

To the north end of Chisago County #7 into Isanti County is being closed from Memorial Day to September. A reconstruction project will be done during those weeks.

County Road 53 is getting a stabilization process and paving. It is gravel now. The project starts at #1 and goes north. #1 is scheduled for a reclaim and pave.

County Road 3 gets its second layer of blacktop.

County Road 81 will be paved, this happens under traffic.

Malin mentioned to expect a day or two road closures allowing culverts to be replaced in two locations. Contractors are urged to work quickly to install the culverts and restore the roadways. The last of the two-years-ago storm damaged culverts will be finally getting repaired on #20, Malin noted. The other culvert is at #7 and 39 in the north end of Chisago County.

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