That other season in Minnesota

It is now that other season in Minnesota, road construction. After several weeks of waiting, the Main Street 2020 project is now underway. Currently the work is on the west end of Main Street near the intersection with Highway 21. This is a project that the city, working with the Minnesota Department of Transportation, has been planning for over several years. Like any street project this is one that is going to require patience and some compromise to get through.

Detours have been set up for traffic going east and west, meaning 10th Avenue SE for traffic going east and 10th Avenue NE (formerly Scott County Road 37) for traffic going west will be getting extra vehicles. One thing I hope motorists realize is that these streets are going through mostly residential neighborhoods. Show some patience and slow down. Recently I’ve been seeing signs that say, “Drive like your kids live here.” There are other versions, but to me they all have a sobering reminder that we have to be careful of our speed and watch where we’re going.

During the road work we also have to remember the shops that will be affected. The city has already set up a route along Mill Street, the dirt road off of Highway 21, to provide access to the businesses in that area. There’s also an alley off of Second Avenue NW that will provide access to the businesses near the intersection of Main Street and Third Avenue NW. The COVID-19 pandemic has already hit some of them. We need to make sure the road work is only an inconvenience and doesn’t hurt them further.

For those who want to keep up on the work they can submit their e-mail address to jbrinkman@sehinc.com and request to be placed on the weekly TH 19 newsletter distribution list. There’s also a text notification that will contain a link to the weekly newsletters and urgent messages via the project website by texting the key word “NEWPRAGUE” to the number (833) 709-1208.