Roseville road construction means slow going on Snelling

As executive director of the Roseville Visitors Association, Julie Larson keeps on top of city events. So she was surprised when a neighbor stopped by the association Wednesday and informed her that Snelling Ave. N. was about to undergo significant construction -- effective immediately.

"It would have been helpful to know in advance," said Larson, whose office is in the HarMar Mall, directly in front of the construction zone. "Traffic will be down to a single lane."

Larson was among the Roseville residents and businesses surprised by a construction project that will dramatically curb northbound traffic this summer on Snelling from Roselawn Avenue to Hwy. 36. It is expected to be finished before the State Fair begins at the end of August.

The project will add another lane of traffic on northbound Snelling, as well as make improvements to two intersections. About 40,000 vehicles a day use this stretch of Snelling Avenue, according to Roseville city officials.

Long in the works, the project apparently was short on community outreach. The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) is not obliged to inform residents because the project is not large enough to warrant public hearings, said Kent Barnard, department spokesman.

The general manager of HarMar Mall, Jamie Swanson, said he'd been aware of the project but didn't know when it was going to begin. So he didn't send any notices out yet to tenants. And Roseville City Engineer Deb Bloom held a meeting last fall for business leaders but also was uncertain of exact construction dates.

That left people like Cub Foods manager Don LeMay scratching his head.

"It would have been nice to know in advance," he said. "But that's life. At least this will be something new."

The project is designed to halt the many rear-end collisions that happen on Snelling, said Roseville Public Works Director Duane Schwartz. A study of the metro area's most accident-prone intersections, conducted by State Farm Insurance in the late 1990s, put the corner of Snelling and County Rd. B high on the list, he said.

In addition to adding a lane to northbound Snelling, the construction project will replace traffic signals at that intersection and at the entrance to HarMar off Snelling, Barnard said.

While the traffic will be slow going in the months ahead, ultimately the construction will make it easier for drivers to make turns into HarMar Mall and other locations along the avenue.

Although the project should be done before the State Fair, the timing is less fortunate for the Minnesota Street Rod Association's Back to the '50s car show, which begins June 20. The show is held at the fairgrounds, but participants traditionally hold an unofficial parade along Snelling Avenue.

Jean Hopfensperger • 651-298-1553