A Stillwater street punished over the years from heavy commuter traffic heading to the Lift Bridge will get an overhaul over the next two months.
Crews will begin work this week on a five-block stretch of 3rd Street South, also known as County Road 23. That segment is the first of four phases that Washington County plans along the route from downtown Stillwater to the vicinity of a new St. Croix River bridge.
The improved road will become an important piece of the bigger bridge project that will involve major highway reconstruction in both Minnesota and Wisconsin, but the timing is coincidental, said Wayne Sandberg, county engineer.
"We would be needing to do this either way because of the condition of the infrastructure," he said. "What the bridge offers is an opportunity to do some of the design features that make a more accessible, walkable, friendly project."
Work on 3rd Street South will transform the street, making it safer for pedestrians. A three-foot boulevard will be added to the east side of the street to make room for plowed snow. Corners of intersections will be expanded, reducing crossing distances and making room for small rain gardens to reduce storm runoff. The east sidewalk, often impassable in winter because of snow accumulation, will be widened to five feet.
The 3rd Street South neighborhood showcases some of Stillwater's grandest old homes, but the street has seen heavy traffic in recent decades because of interstate commuter traffic heading to the Lift Bridge. Pavement has deteriorated to the point where it's close to falling into the county's "red zone" of worst roads, Sandberg said.
The $715,230 project also includes replacing a broken storm sewer pipe, he said.
For years, commuters have cut through neighborhoods as they stream to the Lift Bridge. Doug Menikheim, a City Council member, said neighborhoods had become a "state highway" for bridge traffic.
