Fountain Street will stay open through road work
Published 12:00 am Friday, August 3, 2001
Engineers are urging caution after deciding to keep traffic flowing through the Fountain Street reconstruction project, despite concerns over worker safety.
Friday, August 03, 2001
Engineers are urging caution after deciding to keep traffic flowing through the Fountain Street reconstruction project, despite concerns over worker safety.
According to project manager Don Miller of Yaggy Colby Associates in Rochester, maintaining access to Albert Lea Medical Center was a priority through the project.
&uot;We prefer to completely close roads during major construction,&uot; Miller said.
With crews working on one roadway at a time, area drivers can still use the street and get to ALMC, but caution will help ensure the safety of construction workers from Sorensen Brothers and a handful of subcontractors, Miller said.
The project, scheduled for completion by the end of September, involves total reconstruction of Fountain Street from Park Avenue to St. Mary Avenue.
Miller said workers will also repair three more blocks of Fountain Street from St. Mary to Newton Avenue.
&uot;The new concrete pavement should provide a minimum of 40 years of service life,&uot; Miller said.
City Engineer Dave Olson said the project will cost about $350,000. Because Fountain Street is a municipal state-aid street, more than 90 percent of the cost will be paid for with state funds.
Frank Avenue update
The Frank Avenue reconstruction project is nearing completion as engineers recently opened the newly-paved road from James Avenue to Fifth Street.
Only two blocks of the road surface, from Fifth Street to Seventh Street, remain unfinished.
Engineer Jamie Mehle said the project will continue for at least another 45 days.
As the reconstruction project nears completion, Mehle said the intersection at Frank and Seventh will periodically be reduced to one lane or closed.