By Bruce Karnick

As the saying goes, in Minnesota there are 4 seasons, Pre-Winter, Winter, Post-Winter and Construction. This year, Hastings area residents had a few construction projects to work around, the most notable is 15th street between Vermillion Street and Pine Street. Another section of Hastings has also been busy with road construction, Cannon Street which connects to Vermillion Street between Applebee’s and Las Margaritas, and reconnects to Vermillion Street out by Dugarel’s, plus all the short cross streets between Cannon and Vermillion.

Both of these sections are part of the same project. As of 8/21/2020, all the curb and gutter installs are complete as are the installations of the concrete aprons for all the driveways on the 15th street portion. In speaking with the crew working on 15th Street, they were expecting the first layer of asphalt to be put down in the next 2 weeks. That of course could change due to a variety of reasons, but with in 2 weeks is currently the target. Looking at the Cannon Street portion, that appears to be 4 to 5 weeks behind 15th street.

The interesting piece with 15th street is the width. Before construction, 15th was just over 40 feet wide. After the reconstruction, the width we be closer to 36 feet wide, similar to the reconstruction of Pine St. The intention of this is to slow traffic down. Studies show that drivers slow down when they feel like they have less space around them. An additional benefit of the narrowing of the street will be an improved boulevard and sidewalk area.

The other big project was the intersection of County Road 47 and 190th Street East. When approaching the intersection from Vermillion Township, 190th connected to 47 at a weird angle. The weird angle caused difficulties in seeing approaching traffic coming over the hill on 47 from the south, making the intersection unsafe with all the additional traffic in recent years.

See CONSTRUCTION UPDATES Page 6

190th Street An over head view facing Vermillion Township shows the dramatic change of the intersection. Turn lanes, 90 degree connections, better slope, all contribute to improved visibility and safety of this intersection. Photo Submitted.

15th Street Curbs have been poured and the equipment and crew are working on the connections to the drain lines. Photo by Bruce Karnick CONSTRUCTION UPDATES

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The intersection is now complete. 190th now curves for each approach to allow the intersection to happen at 90 degrees, giving a clear view in all directions. Turn lanes have been added and the slope of the hill has been cleaned up to give ample time for the 55 MPH traffic to be seen from the intersection.

For more information on the current road construction projects in Hastings and to review the planning documents for future projects, visit the City of Hastings website at www. hastingsmn.gov/city-government/city-departments/public-works/engineering-department/ construction-project-information-updates