My name is Ching On. I am the project manager for this Grand Avenue construction project.

I'm Janette Ribar, community engagement coordinator with public works. I've probably met a number of you just through our work on Grand Avenue last year. So, you'll you'll get emails from me. It'll come from me on a a weekly basis. Um

My name is John Hardigan. I'm an engineer with MSA Professional Services. We I'm I'm new to this project. As Ching mentioned, we'll be we'll be leading the construction admin, the construction inspection, as well as the public engagement for the for the project. We've assembled a an awesome team to to to help folks out and make sure everyone stays informed. So, I'll be the I'll be the primary point of contact and I have two folks with me. Connor Duer will be helping me out on the construction end. And Ashley from Zann Associates will be helping out on the public engagement end. So, you'll see our contact information later on in this presentation as well on the on the city website. So, please don't hesitate to reach out, but maybe I'll let Connor introduce himself and then Ashley as well.

Hi everyone, Connor Dewer, MSA Professional Services. I work with John in the Public Works Department at our company and I'll be handling a lot of the day-to-day stuff on the construction side and helping out John with whatever he needs. So, you'll be probably seeing me around the project or hearing from me every now and then. And I can pass it on to Ashley.

Hi everyone, good evening. Ashley Thompson, one of the engagement consultants with Zann Associates on the project. And similar to Janette, we have quite a few people that will work on this project that helped out the previous years on the Grand Avenue construction project. So, very familiar with the corridor and the businesses in the area. So, yeah, looking forward to working with you all again.

So, they are local and they're not too far from the project as well, too. So, but it the the construction team is going to be on a similar groundwork as the Grand Avenue where they were a consultant for the inspection and engagement as well, too. So, this should be very similar to what folks have seen on Van Avenue. Janette and I will still be involved, but more so on the project oversight, maybe answering some city-specific questions, and helping John and his team make those city connections to the public in neighborhood F42. Um But as John mentioned, MSA will be performing the inspections and and then doing the engagement. So they they will be doing a lot of the daily and regular activities out there F42.

We will also be resurfacing the entire intersection as well, too. So that resurfacing going to be there's similar to the um MnDOT project of the Snelling now overlay. So, this will just be continuing where MnDOT um left off about 2 years ago and we're this entire intersection toward the end of this project. Once we are completed with all the curb work and sidewalk work. Uh this this work is relatively contained to just the intersection. Given 100 150 ft beyond the intersection only two. So it it is a very localized um area, but nonetheless it is still very impactful um as it's a intersection between two major uh corridor as well.

So on the right-hand side over here you will see the uh post-construction with the proposed designs as well, too. So we are introducing um curb extension or bump out to reduce the crossing distances for pedestrian improvement. Um again, you don't see some of the element, but the uh signal system will be upgraded um all four crosswalk will be uh restriped um as well, too. So this is a signal, but also a ped uh pedestrian improvement um type of project.

So, the reconnection of the new water main that was built with the Grand Avenue will be will be tying to the Snelling water main. There are some storm sewer work that is uh, needed to be replaced because of the bump out. Um, and then there are a few uh, other sewer works as well, too. So, uh, what you may have gotten out of this is a lot of the construction is going to mainly be happening along the west side of the intersection and then the east side of the intersection only. Uh, so with that said, um, because of the utility works, we do anticipate that the the Grand Avenue eastbound westbound will be closed throughout the the construction. So, they will be restricted uh, through traffic and uh, will not will no longer be able to make a left turn or right turn from Snelling Avenue. Uh, with that said, um, Snelling Avenue, however, will still be open to one lane in each direction northbound and southbound during construction, too. Uh, there may be some minor interruptions uh, or um, limited closures uh, we do have to surface the intersection. But for most part normally Avenue as we understand and know that it carries a lot of traffic so that will need to be open during construction.

So Grand Grand Selwyn intersection construction is anticipated to start in late June or early July. I know that's coming up in a very short here. We're doing our best to work with all the administration side of things to kind of get this project approved to get started. So the contract the contractor um may be able to start the last week of June, uh but given that July 4th is usually on the corner, sometime contractor will will wait uh to wait will wait until after July 4th weekend to start breaking ground, but it wouldn't mean that they won't be in markings any equipment on site uh the week before as well, too. So.

As I mentioned again, N is uh expected to remain uh open to traffic throughout the construction. Um as I mentioned, there may be limited closures, uh we're working very that information to the public and to the businesses uh once we know them, uh we will give it much advanced notice as possible. Um Grand Avenue is expected to be closed off um so that will be closed off to all the through traffics um and they will be uh impacted bus route um business access will still be uh maintained throughout the projects just that they won't be able to go through Grand Avenue at um at N only Avenue. Knowing that that that there's a lot of pedestrian activities along this corridor, we will also main- maintain our pedestrian access as well, too. So, very likely our contractor will only be working on one side uh of the street at a time uh before working on other sides to maintain pedestrian access. So, we wouldn't allow them to work on all four at the same time without without providing pedestrian access to the local neighborhood and businesses, too.

So, this is kind of a map of the anticipated detours of the construction. So, as I mentioned, even though the construction itself is very localized to just one intersection, how it is, however, very major intersection. So, the line in the orange here is shown as the main detour for through traffic. Do note that when we are talking about through traffic, we're talking about trucks and folks that are trying to get through the corridor from one side to the other side that aren't necessarily um uh driving towards some of the local destination or or residences or visitors in the area as well, too. So, our anticipated main detour for through traffic is going to be through Fairview, Marshall Avenue, Hamlin, and Sinclair. Once construction start, we'll know which route the contractor will like to push them either through or Sinclair. As I mentioned earlier, this is just a very broader detour for larger trucks that are coming through Grand Avenue to be detoured, too. However, for for residents, for visitors, for for local and business access, you will still remain to be on Grand Avenue. But, at some point, the hard closure at the intersection will uh force you to go around the intersection, so uh we do anticipate that folks will still be able to get into Gana Avenue right until about Cambridge Macalester area there, and they will have to be pushed up to Summit Avenue, and then come back as soon as Saratoga.

So, once construction start, we will have a weekly emails and webpage update. The project webpage is utilizing the same Grand Avenue webpage, so if you have any sign up from that project, um you don't have to sign up. Um again, we're using the same webpage and the same email list, so a lot of you folks that already overlap with this project, most folks should already be on this already, too. But if you aren't, the please do sign up. That will be our mo- our mass communication on a weekly to to folks, that's route two. Um the other form of communication is that we will also hold weekly stakeholder meetings for businesses and residents to address question and concern. At this time, we don't have a um day and time just yet. Um The reason why we don't is we want to wait until we have a construction meeting with the contractors. Until that information is known, that way we can hold these weekly weekly stakeholder meetings after those meetings, uh so that businesses and residents are given the most up-to-date and latest information on that.

Um, so just a quick reminder that our construction window uh start from anywhere from uh essentially from now until the end of August. So that is when um Bosco is out and um most opportune uh window that we have to work with, too. So we understand that that window is very tight and we're going to have to work with our contractor to um achieve this project. So um but known dates that we are aware of at the Scottish Fair that is happening in this area uh in the middle of July which is a Saturday. So that's something that will that will be made aware to our contractor um to have things ready in place and set set ready for the weekends just like any any normal weekend we will want them to. We'll also tell them not to work on that weekend as well, too. If they're planning to do any weekend or night work, um that's one weekend that we will um we will have to shake them on. We've been in communication with McCauley School, so I understand that their move-in and orientation is the week of August 31st with class starting the day after Labor Day as well, too. So the the goal of mine is to have this project completed toward the end of August before school starts as well, too. As we are all aware traffic start to increase significantly after Labor Day weekend.

I am the project manager, Chang Zhao. My contact information uh listed right there and then Janette Rebar who is in our public works communication engagement team that's what to her contact um also listed right there, too. So, um with that said, um, Janette, is there anything else uh to mention before we open up for Q&A?

And I think we said this, we will share contact information for MSA like project inspector, you'll know who to reach out to, who's on site. Um as we get kind of all the pieces and we give you that date we're going to start construction and then we're happy to take questions at this point. You can either put them in the chat, um, you can raise your hand or if you're not sure how to do either if you unmute yourself, I'll kind of be paying attention to two people there. And then if if we don't get to a question today, you can always reach out to us, too, and we You follow up that way. I know, I'm seeing a little activity in the chat, but if someone has a question, we can take them that way as well.

Yeah, thank you. Uh I'm losing track of time, but I think it was in 2024, uh the intersection south at uh St. Clair was was rebuilt. With uh uh new new lights uh installed. Will Will these traffic signals uh at this intersection of Grand and Snelling uh be similar, or will these be maybe uh uh slightly more capable of uh having having more features with the camera and and the lights? Uh I see this intersection as uh you know, definitely having uh more pedestrian traffic than the one on St. Clair. Uh you know, it's more similar probably to an intersection like uh Cleveland and Ford Parkway? So, I just, you know, wondering, you know, what what the city is is going to put in here as far as capability of being able to you know, program the camera for different situations like uh midnight versus, you know, rush hour and and that kind of thing. Thank you.

Uh yes, I can answer the question. So, with this project as I mentioned there is the no turn on red for westbound uh Grand Avenue going northbound. That will remain uh that will remain uh post construction and currently that will only be the the only one that will remain. That would in- install I apologize I can't remember the year 2014 2016. Essentially, it was installed when the A line went in and that right turn maneuvers have a lot of sight line concerns with the A line buses coming from the left hand side so that's kind of the rationale for that sign out there and now. I know there has been requests to our traffic folks about additional no turn on red. The the response that I received from our traffic engineer folks is that um evaluation of of that will um will need to be studied after the plan after this construction but the current design have the current one sign to be replaced and put back in.

Hi, I thought I had seen somewhere in some earlier conversations mention of sewer work in the intersection. Uh is that I assume that's not part of this this project. Is that a separate project that you know is coming or just something I imagined?

Yeah, yeah, I can talk about that and and kind of explain to I'm just going to shuffle back to my other slides right here. So um in terms of sewer work, uh we have one storm sewer line over here and that's essentially it because the water is flowing um toward the west coming from Saratoga. So, with that bump out, that obviously affect drainage pattern. So, we have to reconstruct those cast station and move them upstream. So, that's that's a little bit about the storm sewer work. We have um There was one sanitary line right here just to kind of um uh not necessarily for the public for for the public, but this is part of our fun city stuff. So, there was there was a sanitary line that was really close to a signal pole that that the city found to be in poor shape. And that was what was found out during the Minda project that televised the the sewer work. So, that's something that we found and and thankfully we found early enough that we can uh fix that problem with this intersection project. So, all of that sanitary line that I have highlighted here is not necessarily due to the ped improvement and it's not being paid for by by this project. It's being being paid for the our our sewer um our sewer fund, but it's to correct uh issues that we wouldn't have known otherwise.