Construction has started to improve Woodland Avenue between Snively Road and Anoka Street in Duluth. The project includes repaving the approximately 1.5 miles of Woodland Avenue and constructing new curbs and gutters.
More notably, to improve safety for all road users, Woodland Avenue will change from two lanes in each direction to one lane each with a continuous center turn lane, and a bike lane will be added. Other safety improvements include enhanced pedestrian crossings at the entrance to Hartley Nature Center and at Minneapolis Avenue, and a new sidewalk from the Hartley entrance to Northfield Street.
Woodland Avenue will remain open to through traffic for the majority of the project, though travelers should expect lane closures and possible delays. Woodland Avenue is expected to close for three weeks between St. Paul Avenue and Northfield Street, though exact dates for that have yet to be determined. The project is expected to be done by the end of August.
Motorists must slow down and stay alert when traveling in or near construction zones. More information about the project can be found online at engage.stlouiscountymn.gov.
St. Louis County is partnering with the City of Duluth on one other component of this project - constructing a series of stormwater basins near Woodland Avenue just north of the entrance to Hartley Park to capture and filter stormwater runoff. A portion of existing storm sewer pipes under Woodland Avenue will be replaced to divert stormwater runoff to the new treatment system, which will temporarily store runoff and release it at more controlled rates with pollutants removed through settling and filtration.
The filtration basins are designed to hold water no more than 48 hours to minimize creation of mosquito breeding habitat. The results will include cleaner, cooler water and reduced erosion, improving the wildlife habitat and water quality of Tischer Creek. Construction of this stormwater “green infrastructure” system, which includes five acres of basins as well as improving the vegetation on eight acres north of the basins, is a joint County-City project led by St. Louis County, funded by a $500,000 Clean Water Partnership grant from the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources and $1.5 million in federal Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funds overseen by the US Army Corps of Engineers.
More information on the green infrastructure project is available at: https://duluthmn.gov/parks/parks-planning/progress-in-the-parks/woodland-Hartley-green-infrastructure.
