With all the wet weather the area has sustained in the last couple weeks it would have been perfectly normal to expect that the work on a new roundabout at the intersection of County Road 10 and Highway 284 would be delayed significantly. Instead, city engineer Kreg Schmidt said work crews have been making great progress.

Paving at the roundabout was actually scheduled to start this past Monday. Schmidt said the project was ahead of schedule until the wet weather arrived last week.

“That obviously had an impact, but they had been working so hard that they were actually ahead of schedule,” said Schmidt.

He said paving at the site could be completed by the middle of next week, weather permitting. A retaining wall and trail, on the east side of the roadway, may be constructed after traffic is allowed to start using the road once again. The section of Highway 284 between County Road 10 and Sparrow Road has been closed for the past several weeks while crews install the roundabout and improve the road bed.

Schmidt said the city is also making one lighting change that should make area residents happy. The 250-watt high pressure sodium (HPS) lamps that were installed at the roundabout just up the hill, at the intersection of Highway 284 and Sparrow Road, will soon be replaced with a less intense 150-watt light. Those same 150-watt lamps will also be used at the new roundabout.

Schmidt said there had been some concerns raised by area residents when the 250-watt lamps were installed. Even Mayor Roger Lehrke said he noticed the intensity of the lamps one evening while he was driving in that area. “It was bright enough where you could sit out there and read a newspaper at night.”

The total cost of the roundabout work is estimated at $2.17 million. Of that, MnDot is paying for $969,000. The county is paying another $763,000. Leaving the city with a total cost of $443,000.

Other work in that area will push costs higher, though. The Highway 284 trail, retaining wall and watermain work will cost $400,000. And the Highway 284 lift station and utility relocation will cost another $1.1 million.

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