It will take more time to get around Park Rapids this season and next, but a Highway 34 construction project will relieve congestion and improve the condition and safety of the Park Rapids thoroughfare when completed.
The first phase of the project at the intersection of state Highways 34 and 71 was scheduled to begin May 14 and will require a detour onto city streets (see map).
This portion of the project with the detour is expected to be complete in 12 calendar days with the remaining work done under traffic.
Once the stoplights have been re-installed, the south half of Highway 34 will be closed with traffic constricted to the north half.
Work this season will proceed from "a couple of hundred feet" west of the Fish Hook River bridge to Western Avenue.
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A detour also will be necessary at the west end of the project. Once school is out (June 1 is the last day of classes), traffic will be re-routed north on Western Avenue to Monico Lane and back south on Helten Avenue.
In mid-July, the south half of Highway 34 should be completed and the north half will be closed.
When stoplights, including those on Main Avenue are out of commission, there will be four-way stops at intersections.
The contactors will maintain access to all businesses and residences.
The city will be replacing old water and sewer lines in the road right-of-way as part of the construction. Other work included this summer will be relocating utility lines in the highway right-of-way east from the bridge.
Two road realignments will be completed. One is the intersection of Helten and Fair avenues at Highway 34. The other work will be at CSAH 4 and the township road (169th Avenue) running south.
Next summer, the project will continue east of the Fish Hook River bridge to CSAH 4.
Recognizing the impact the loss of trees along the highway will have on the city's appearance, a committee has been working on plans to replant and landscape the corridor following construction.
