Highway 36/English Street improvement project begins today

With a few inches of snow still on the ground and temperatures a degree either side of freezing, it hardly seems like road construction season.

Yet, the Minnesota Department of Transportation Monday is starting work on the $17.3 million makeover of the Hwy. 36 and English Street intersection The first order of business is building retaining walls.

The project calls for the traffic signal to be removed and replaced with a diamond interchange designed to improve traffic flow. The project also will involved upgrades to several nearby roads and replacing the Bruce Vento Trail pedestrian and bicycle bridge.

Access to Hwy. 36 at Hazelwood and Atlantic Streets will be closed permanently.

As part of the project, Hwy. 36 will be closed for up to 75 days between Hwy. 61 and White Bear Avenue. MnDOT's contract with Forest Lake Contracting says the company can close the segment for "a maximum of 75 days, so it's likely it will aim to close the roadway as early as they can to utilize all 75 days," said MnDOT spokeswoman Cara Chandler.

With that, Chandler says that will likely take place in mid- to late-June.

"We'd like Hwy. 36 to be back open by late August," she said.

Here is the construction schedule according to MnDOT:

Phase 2 & Phase 3

Phase 4