The intersection of Northwest Fourth and Jackson streets in Brainerd will be closed to traffic beginning Monday, April 26, for construction of a roundabout.
The closure will block all access to and from Northtown, Riverside Drive and Beaver Dam Road and is expected to be in effect through the second week in June. The contractor will maintain a passable route for emergency vehicles only. During this time, traffic should use alternate routes.
The city of Brainerd will send an official notice of the re-opening when construction is complete.
Motorists are asked to drive with caution when in a construction zone and expect traffic delays and detours during this construction phase.
Those with questions or concerns can contact Bolton & Menk Inc. project engineer Phil Martin at 218-821-7265 or Anderson Brothers Construction Co. project manager Scott Hendrickson at 218-820-9917.
ADVERTISEMENT
“The city appreciates the public’s patience during this construction process,” city officials said in a news release.
The reconstruction project
The roundabout is the first phase of a project, which will reconstruct Northwest Fourth Street between Jackson Street and Highway 210/Washington Street.
Lanes will be configured to one northbound lane and three southbound lanes to rid the split phasing at the signal at Northwest Fourth and Washington streets to improve traffic conditions on both streets. Split phasing refers to the signal’s current design of the green light split into separate phases — one for turning vehicles and other for through-traffic and pedestrians. A full median will run between Washington and Jackson streets to prohibit left-hand turns onto Northwest Fourth Street.
The construction of the roundabout at the Jackson Street intersection is aimed to improve traffic flow and cut down on collisions. A recent traffic study showed 28 crashes at that intersection in a five-year period, which is 6 1/2 times the statewide average for similar intersections.
The project will go hand in hand with improvements to Northwest Third Street and Jackson Street east of the project zone, which will improve access to the area behind the Ace Hardware strip mall.
The project is estimated to cost $1,083,516, and the city was awarded $800,000 in funds from the Local Road Improvement Program. The rest of the cost will be paid through the city’s state aid account.
The roundabout is expected to be completed within the first two weeks of June, City Engineer Paul Sandy said, with crews then continuing to work north toward Highway 210/Washington Street on the rest of the construction.
