Duluth Officials Provide Updates on 21 Avenue E, Glenwood Roundabout Projects
Have you heard the exciting news? It's National Roundabout Week! While that may be a "reason to celebrate an increasingly common part of our Northland roadways", we do have a couple of roundabout construction projects underway in Duluth that are having significant traffic impacts, especially now that school has started.
That is why the City of Duluth provided timely updates Wednesday of the roundabout construction project taking place at 21st Avenue E and the project in progress on Glenwood Street.
The City says the 21st Avenue E closure began on June 20, 2022 between London Road and E 2nd Street. The closure was recently extended to E 4th Street and will eventually extend to Woodland Avenue. E 4th Street will remain open at all times. The project is expected to be complete in the second half of October and 21st Avenue E will reopen at that time.
They note the project schedule has been delayed due to unforeseen utility repairs that were required as well as material delays for storm sewer items and traffic signal components.
As for the Glenwood Street closure, which began on July 5, 2022 at the intersection of Glenwood Street and Snively Road, that timeline is slightly shorter.
The Glenwood Roundabout project is a joint project between Saint Louis County and the City of Duluth and is taking place concurrently with County projects on Woodland Avenue and Snively Road. All three County-led projects are expected to be complete on October 15, 2022 and the streets will reopen to traffic at that time. This project is proceeding mostly on schedule due to the contractor’s efforts, despite also encountering material delays for storm sewer items.
If either project gets delayed due to unforeseen circumstances, the City will certainly notify the public and update the timeline of the construction project that is impacted.
Love them or hate them, roundabouts do reduce crashes and I have a feeling they'll keep popping up around the Northland. Personally, I only get irritated with them when I'm unfamiliar with the area and, therefore, I am not confident on which direction I need to end up going. Thankfully, my phone has a great directions app to help me out in those circumstances!