Over the course of the past two weeks, work has been limited on the Main Street Project. Last week, most construction activities occurred on Seventh Avenue Southeast from Main Street to Third Street South. Construction has been focused on the preparation of the aggregate base for the future roadway that will
connect the paved sections to the north and south of the construction area. Yesterday, one of Knife Lake Concrete’s crew arrived on site to begin placing stakes and string line for the construction of concrete curb and gutter.

This week, Lake’s Country Landscaping continued working on turf establishment, focusing on the portion of Main Street from Third Avenue East to Eleventh Avenue East. With our recent rains, the seeding on the westerly portion of Main Street is beginning to sprout. A few reminders regarding the establishment of turf are included below:

• When mowing the grass for the first time, don’t mow until the grass blades lay over a bit.
  Yes, it will be long, but it needs to be left undisturbed while initially growing. Adjust your
  mowing height to two (2) – inches or higher than your normal height and gradually lower
  your mowing height over the next couple of mowings.
•  There may be some weeds that develop during the initial growing of the turf, these weeds
  will subside as the turf underneath grows and will eventually disappear as the turf grass
  thickens. Weeds will worsen if the turf is left unattended or cut too low.
• Water, water, water. Water the turf regularly for the first couple months. When the
  weather is hot, the grass needs to be watered at least twice a week. When the temps are
  cool, it should stay moist.
• The turf is fertilized before being installed, please do not fertilize until sixty days after initialplacement.

Upcoming Activities
Starting next week, the final phase of Main Street will begin to see construction activities. On Tuesday, a
detour will be setup for Phase 4, closing Main Street from the east side of the intersection of First Avenue
to the east side of the intersection of Fourth Avenue West. The detour will include the redirecting of traffic on County 8 to the intersection of Second Avenue East and the installation of a temporary four-way stop at the intersection of Main Street and Second Avenue by City Hall. Parking on Main Street between Second Avenue East and First Avenue will still be allowed, however, some of the stalls will be signed for “No Parking” near the intersection to allow a temporary U-Turn for vehicle traffic. Although the primary detour route will include Second Street South, there will be additional traffic utilizing the alley between Main Street and the Railroad, please be careful when traveling in the alley as there will be significantly more traffic and parking needed with the closure of Main Street.

Following the setup of the detour on Main Street, removals will begin at the intersection of First Avenue working to the west. Similarly to the Phase 1 improvement scheduling, removals will be focused on the existing roadway, curb and gutter, lighting, signals, and other surfaces necessary to complete the underground utility replacement. The existing pavers and sidewalk next to buildings will be left in place as long as possible to allow for pedestrian access throughout the construction. Please be careful when walking through the phase, as snow fences and other temporary access facilities may shift during the construction.

Ottertail Aggregate will be the contractor completing the majority of the removals throughout the phase
and will work to keep various intersections open when removals are not active. With limited side street access on the north side of Main Street, the intent is to allow crossing access on Avenues to the parking between Main Street and the railroad when construction activities are not required in the intersections.
In addition to the work on Phase 4, concrete improvements will be occurring on Seventh Avenue Southeastwith the construction of curb and gutter and driveway aprons near Nyhus Detailing and Crane Johnson. Following the curing of the new concrete, additional aggregate will be installed in the roadway to prepare the phase for pavement. Concrete improvements will also be occurring near the railroad crossing to the industrial park at Seventh Avenue Northeast. The improvements are necessary to address drainage at the intersection and will becompleted in sections to allow the crossing to remain open. Although the crossing will remain open, there may be restrictions to turning movements to keep heavy traffic off the new concrete. Please obey any signage restricting turning movements which may require utilizing other railroad crossings.

If you have any questions, or want additional information on the project, the Perham Chamber of
Commerce has created a webpage dedicated to the project, which can be accessed at this link
(https://www.perham.com/2024msrp/). For more specific questions, feel free to contact the City Engineer, Jade Berube, via email at jade.berube@apexenggroup.com, or City Manager, Jonathan Smith at
jsmith@cityofperham.com.