State Shutdown & Road Construction
Last week our city staff informed the Council of the likely impact of the potential state shutdown on road projects in Maplewood. The Minnesota Department of Transportation has advised local governments to halt work on any jobs with federal funding on July 1st if a budget deal isn't reached. Also, MnDOT has directed that work will not be allowed in any MnDOT right-of-way if there's a state government shutdown.
What this means for Maplewood: The purely local projects (which would be the residential neighborhood of Western Hills that is having a lot of streets done, and the public works in Gladstone that goes along with the redevelopment at Frost and Lake Shore Drive) will stay on track through a state shutdown. But there are a couple of very big ongoing projects in Maplewood that include federal funding and at least some work in MnDOT right of way: the Rice Street/Highway 36 bridge, interchange, and related work (which is partly in Maplewood, but mostly in Little Canada and Roseville); and the White Bear Avenue improvements.
Unless some procedural work-around is found to allow at least some of that work to continue, we may see those projects sit idle for an unknown length of time while the governor and legislature try to work out their differences.
What this means for Maplewood: The purely local projects (which would be the residential neighborhood of Western Hills that is having a lot of streets done, and the public works in Gladstone that goes along with the redevelopment at Frost and Lake Shore Drive) will stay on track through a state shutdown. But there are a couple of very big ongoing projects in Maplewood that include federal funding and at least some work in MnDOT right of way: the Rice Street/Highway 36 bridge, interchange, and related work (which is partly in Maplewood, but mostly in Little Canada and Roseville); and the White Bear Avenue improvements.
Unless some procedural work-around is found to allow at least some of that work to continue, we may see those projects sit idle for an unknown length of time while the governor and legislature try to work out their differences.
Labels: public works
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