By Aidan Rice
KYMN News Intern
Jefferson Parkway is slated to be fully open to traffic early next week, reopening a major artery in southeast Northfield.
This will mark the end of months of major construction on neighborhood streets between State Highway 246 and Hall Avenue including new sidewalks, pedestrian crossing infrastructure, and paved trails.
The area, home to destinations such as Spring Creek Elementary and the Spring Creek Park Soccer Complex, will also now be connected to the new Mill Towns State Trail, bringing a variety of trail users into the area.
“This is a state DNR trail that will be used by not only Northfielders, but people region-wide … our goal is to be as safe as possible with the construction of that,” said Sean Simonson, engineering manager for the City of Northfield.
The summer-long Jefferson Parkway project began in May and was originally expected to wrap up in early to mid-September. The new planned reopening date is early in the week of October 19. Simonson attributed the delay to crews needing to be cautious around small utility lines for things like communications and fiber. September’s showers didn’t help, either.
“Rain is like Kryptonite to Superman for us,” he said.
The conclusion of the third and final phase of this major project, the area’s third in the past three years, should bring a reprieve for the neighborhood in years to follow.
“That portion of town, I don’t think we have hardly anything in the foreseeable future, so they’re going to get a pretty good break,” Simonson said.
Aidan Rice is a student at St. Olaf College and an intern with KYMN News. Contact him through Rich Larson at rich@kymnradio.net
