By Logan Wells, News Director | Logan@kymnradio.net
Last week, the Northfield City Council approved the 2025 construction projects centering in the Maple Street area. Maple Street from Jefferson Parkway to Ford Street, Lake Drive from Jefferson Parkway to Maple Street, and Superior Drive from Erie Drive to Maple Street will all undergo a mill and overlay process next year. According to the Minnesota Department of Transportation and the City of Northfield, a Mill and Overlay project is a less intensive road construction where approximately the top two inches of pavement are removed or “milled,” and a new layer of pavement is laid down. The impact on residents is less compared to a full reconstruction of the road, and this will extend the life of the road by about 15 years. The total cost of all the mill and overlay projects in the Maple Street area is estimated to be $1.2 million.
Pavement Reclamation, however is a much larger process of removing a much deeper portion of the road and involves fixing curbs and gutters as well. Washington Street was set for full pavement reclamation, but the council instead chose to delay the project, likely for 2026. While many on the council agreed that Washington Street is in need of full repair, there was a lot of debate about the plans. Additionally, the council had received significant feedback from residents with concerns about the project.
“So although a couple of years one to two year delay on the project isn’t something we like to see, you want to get it right with that and the input and feedback from the from the community as well as the Council as they deliberated I think. Drew that out that it was important to kind of look at that closer.”- City Administrator Ben Martig
In 2025, Washington Street will undergo temporary patching of the road until full repairs can be made.
You can learn more about the project from the cities website by clicking here: https://www.northfieldmn.gov/1631/2025-Reclamation-and-Overlay-Project
