Ward 5 Update from Councilwoman Laura Armstrong
The 12th Street Reconstruction Project is well underway. As many people have realized, we have major traffic restrictions on both Main and St. Joe near Halley Park. The Main Street restriction is expected to last into May and the St. Joe restriction is scheduled into August. Once the contractor completes the work on Main, they will then lay three major storm sewers through Halley Park. After the work is complete on the north side of St. Joseph Street, they will proceed to the south side of the street where there is storm sewer, water, and sewer work to be done. The project also includes 12th Street from St. Joe through Kansas City Street this year. The work next year will pick up where they leave off this year and continue south. This will be a major change for 12th Street neighborhood by improving the conveyance of the runoff underground and the installation of new water and sewer. The biggest visual change will be the widening of the streets and sidewalks.
The St Patrick Street reconstruction project is set to go to bid on June 11th. Work will begin approximately one month later. The reconstruction addresses one of our more problematic streets between West Boulevard and Mount Rushmore Road. The street will be closed for the construction from just west of the Starbucks entrance to West Boulevard. We will be installing a new water main and some storm sewer. Upon completion there will be a new paved street, curb and gutter, and mostly new sidewalks.
The third project in the area this year is the water main reconstruction on St Andrew and Palo Verde. This project is off the main drag but will have a significant impact to the homeowners in the area as there is only one way in and out. As usual, while the water main is the primary impetus behind the project. We will also be working on the sanitary sewer, the storm sewer, installing curb and gutter, and paving the street.
The Omaha project is a Department of Transportation (federal) project and was scheduled to be complete up to the Mountain View Intersection. Some of the work interfering with our detour is the uncompleted work from last year.
These projects are programmed for years in advance. While it is unfortunate these are both occurring simultaneously, we are working with both contractors to expedite the completion of the work in our main thoroughfares.
While there are many more projects that we complete throughout Rapid City yearly, these are the ones we expect to impact most directly the West Boulevard neighborhood.