Activity has started on Main Street throughout the week as outlined in the last update. Early in the week,
some of the signage on Highway 10 directing Truck Traffic away from downtown was setup, with final
Traffic Control and Detour signage for the first phase going up on Wednesday. Some of the road closures
and detours were left in place overnight on Wednesday to allow for the removal of existing trees on the
block of Main Street between First and Third Avenue early Thursday morning. By mid-morning on
Thursday, Ottertail Aggregate got a jump start on the project to try to speed up the improvements by
beginning removals of the existing pavement along with the curb and gutter near the intersection of Fifth
Avenue East. By the end of day today, the contractor hopes to get removals to east side of the intersection
of Third Avenue East, or the Service Foods Signal Lights.
Following the construction meeting on Thursday afternoon, the contractor shifted some of the traffic
control signage between First Avenue and Third Avenue East to allow for traffic until the closure is
necessary early next week. The signage will remain up, but traffic will be allowed to utilize the roadway to
access businesses and park on the roadway through the weekend. On Monday morning, a closure of the
roadway will be necessary to allow for the removal of pavement and other surface features from Third
Avenue East to First Avenue. This closure will remain in place during the construction of the first phase,
however, a majority of the sidewalk will be left to allow pedestrians access through downtown. Please do
what you can to support the downtown businesses during the road closure with a little Main Street
walking.
Next week, more crews will be arriving in town to begin the utility replacement on the first phase of the
project. Ottertail Aggregate will continue removing the existing pavement and concrete on the first phase
of the project, concentrating on the two blocks from Third Avenue to the east side of First Avenue. Parsons
Electric will be disconnecting the existing lights east of First Avenue and removing the signals at Third
Avenue from service to allow utility improvements. In addition to the removal of the lights on the east side
of downtown, the traffic signal lights at First Avenue and Main Street will shift to flashing red, making it a
four way stop at the intersection during construction.
R.L. Larson will be moving their crew that is working on the north side of town in the Westwind and
Prairie’s Edge Additions to Main Street to begin the replacement of sanitary sewer starting at Fifth Avenue
East. R.L. Larson plans to bring another crew to town to speed the utility replacement scheduling. In
addition to sanitary sewer replacement, the existing fire hydrants at the intersections of Third and Second
Avenue East will be replaced. The replacement will require a short, two-to-three-hour shutdown of the
water services on the blocks downtown. The shutdown timing will be communicated to neighboring
properties in advance of the work to allow for property owners to work through short inconvenience.
2024 Main Street Project Update
Main Street, Second Avenue Northeast, and Seventh Avenue Southeast
Tentatively, the closures are planned for Tuesday and Wednesday of next week, with more specific
information to follow.
On Monday morning, an informal update will be held in the back room at Lake’s Café from 7:30 to 8:30. At
the meeting, city and engineering staff will be available to visit with property owners, citizens, or other
interested community members regarding scheduling concerns with the construction project.
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.