Local leaders gathered this week for a ribbon-cutting that signaled the completion of several improvements at the former Thompson Oaks golf course site, including a restored wetland and a new segment of the River to River Greenway trail.
Thompson Oaks, West St. Paul's only municipal golf course, closed in 2018. The site, which once included a natural wetland, had been filled in with contaminated soil and other materials before the golf course's construction, according to a Dakota County news release. The project involved removing about 200 truckloads of that contaminated soil.
Now, the wetland is back, along with a small creek. The news release said the area has become a "model regional stormwater treatment system" with about 25% of West St. Paul's total runoff flowing through it on its way to the Mississippi River.
The project also added a new segment of the River to River Greenway and a boardwalk with views of the restored wetland.
The nearly $6 million project was funded with $4.5 million from the county's American Rescue Plan Act allocation, with the city contributing $700,000 and the state chipping in $575,000 from its Clean Water Fund.
