Which roads will be improved this season? We’ve got your guide

Congestion will be eased, pavement will be improved — but first, there’s road construction season ahead.

And it’s going to be a big one.

The city’s public works director said this year will be beat 2020’s more than $71 million in projects.

“Our street maintenance program this year is going to be huge,” Mark Cotter said. “It’s a much more robust program because as our city grows we have to grow our maintenance program.”

So which roads will be improved — and maybe should be avoided in the meantime? Read on.

Minnesota Avenue

There are three major projects along Minnesota Avenue:

Russell Street

Russell Street east of Minnesota Avenue will be closed for five to six weeks for concrete joint repairs.

When: Work starts this spring and should be done by late summer.

33rd Street

This is a big one, with a closure of 33rd Street east and west of Minnesota Avenue, though Minnesota will remain open with one lane of traffic.

There will be additional work at 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th, 28th and 31st streets and other side street closures will occur.

“We’re closing 33rd Street on both sides to really accelerate the work so the contractors and get in and get it done,” Cotter said. “33rd is such an important intersection, the pavement is beyond its useful life, so it will be all new pavement and new utilities and set it up for the next 25 years.”

When: Work starts May 3 and the project is scheduled to be done by mid-October.

57th Street to St. Andrews Drive 

This stretch of Minnesota needs to go from three lanes to five lanes. Plus, the intersection at Ralph Rogers Road will receive a traffic signal — a longtime request from those who use it.

“A lot of people use Ralph Rogers for their daily commute,” Cotter said. “It collects the neighborhood traffic and brings it out to an arterial … and at Western Avenue we added a signal a couple years ago, and that’s been very well-received, and now they’ll have one at Minnesota.”

When: Work will begin in early May, and the plan is to be done by mid-November. Minnesota will keep one lane open in each direction.

Marion Road

Big improvements are ahead between 41st and 57th streets, which will include a water main replacement between 53rd and 57th that will close that stretch of the road for one or two months.

“That asphalt pavement is generally getting tired,” said Cotter, adding the city expects Marion Road will be a much-used alternate route in 2022 and 2023 when the city is reconstructing the 41st Street interstate exit.

“So to make sure we can still support and move traffic, Marion Road between 41st and 57th will provide a good linkage for people. And we are going to go do a full rebuild of the utilities because we had a series of water main breaks.”

When: Work will start by mid-April and is scheduled to be done by mid-September.

Kiwanis Avenue

If you look at the road, it doesn’t appear in bad shape. But drive it from 12th to 41st streets, and “your tires have a slap to them,” Cotter said.

“When you go from one concrete panel to the next, you get an uneven driving experience, and it isn’t as smooth as it should be, plus there are some accessibility curb ramps that need to be done.”

Concrete repairs will be done, and the surface will be ground, “so when people drive it’s a good, smooth experience,” Cotter said. “That’s a good road to use for a daily commute, so we want to make an investment in it.”

When: Work starts April 12 and is expected to be done by late July or early August. You can still take Kiwanis Avenue as one lane will be maintained in each direction.

49th Street

From Louise Avenue to Carnegie Circle, this includes new concrete surfacing and a 10-foot-wide side path along the south side of the street, plus water main, sanitary sewer, storm drainage and lighting improvements.

Oxbow Avenue will be closed for two to three weeks during construction; 49th Street will remain open to one lane of traffic in each direction.

With the upgraded utilities, “that area can feel very good about storm drainage facilities to handle the more frequent storms,” Cotter said.

When: Work is scheduled to start April 5 and last until mid-August.

26th & Southeastern Avenue

Here’s the best news: This intersection really shouldn’t even be on this list. This week, the contractor is starting work on the remaining cleanup items.

There will be periodic lane closures as needed, but traffic will be maintained. With good weather, the contractor expects to have all work completed by Memorial Day.

69th Street & Sycamore Avenue

This is a gravel road intersection that needs some pavement. Work starts April 5 to build it into four lanes with a median.

“This one is building with development,” Cotter said. “There’s a Harrisburg school in that area … and luckily we won’t be affecting too much in the way of traffic because it’s a gravel road, but it will really set us up for progressive maturity of that land in that area.”

When: After starting April 5, the project is expected to be done by late October. The intersection will be closed to traffic.

57th Street from Veterans Parkway to Six Mile Road

This is another street that needs to keep pace with development. The city is going to grade it and put in utilities this year in preparation to surface it next year.

“When you look at the amount of development between 26th and 57th and Veterans to Six Mile, we’ve got to be out there with development building the arterial streets, so we’re working hard to get that out to bid,” Cotter said. “Today, it’s a two-lane gravel road. With what we’re doing this year, it will still be gravel, but it will be graded with new utilities, and next year we’ll put a paving package out.”

Neighborhood improvements

While those are the major projects affecting traffic, the city also will complete 200 blocks of asphalt mill and overlay work, 500 blocks of slurry seal, which extends the life of the pavement, and 71 blocks of concrete reseal and repair.

For a map of all the work this season, click below.

2021 CIP Map March 16 2021