16th Street SW will open to one lane of traffic in each direction
Minot, N.D. – The driving public in Minot will be able to use a key north/south arterial road, as 16th Street SW will open to one lane of vehicle traffic in each direction later this afternoon. Wagner Construction, general contractor for the HMGP-Water Treatment Plant flood protection project, experienced a variety of setbacks in opening the road on time, and is continuing to place concrete in other sections of the road in an effort to open it completely before the end of the month. This area is not open to pedestrian traffic as sidewalks are not yet in place.
“It will be good to see the road partially opened to traffic. We have been reassured by the contractor that they will be done by the end of October with the concrete pours that are needed to open up 16th Street to all lanes of traffic,” said Dan Jonasson, director of public works. “And with the road now open we hope that more people will be able to see the level of new floodwall protection that is in place for one of our region’s most important pieces of infrastructure, the area’s Water Treatment Plant.”
Wagner Construction has indicated they are ahead of schedule in other key portions of the HMGP-Water Treatment Plant Project, including being almost completely done with the placement of foundations and floodwalls. Work is finishing up just off the main site, as crews are laying in larger storm water inlets, pipes, and manholes on or near Burdick Expressway and 11th Avenue SW, to allow for proper drainage on the “dry side” of the floodwalls during a large rain event. The work needed to connect interior roads from the neighborhood east of this project to 16th Street SW scheduled to be complete before Thanksgiving.
The remaining sidewalk work to allow for pedestrians to move safely through this area remains to be done. The City of Minot is asking people to please pay attention to areas of the project that remain under construction and to not ignore road or sidewalk closed signs.
The HMGP–Water Treatment Plant Project is designed to prevent future floods from contaminating and interrupting the potable water supply production and transmission at the Minot Water Treatment Plant and NAWS High Service Pump Station.
In total, 1,720 linear feet of concrete floodwalls on the south side of the Mouse River will be installed on this project to protect against a 2011-level flood event, plus freeboard. These floodwalls will tie into two new temporary roadway closure structures at 16th Street SW and Water Treatment Plant Road (12th Street SW). Earthen levees and the adjustment of intake structures at the treatment plant are also part of the project.
Residents with questions are encouraged to follow the City of Minot Facebook page, like the Mouse River Plan Facebook page, sign up for email alerts through the city’s website or www.mouseriverplan.com, or contact the public information officer for the project, Mark Lyman with Odney at 857-7205.
