Reconstructing and rehabilitating streets, sidewalks, bridges and bike paths can cost Saint Paul upward of $80 million per year, when all funding sources are considered by the city’s Department of Public Works.
The Saint Paul City Council reviewed its five-year capital plan on November 2 with city engineer Paul Kurtz. According to him, the city did well in a recent Metropolitan Council regional solicitation round for 2026-2027, when eight of 10 submissions will receive a total of more than $27 million in federal funding. Local projects include Wabasha Street between 7th and 11th streets ($5.3 million), and Capital City Bikeway segments on Saint Peter Street and Kellogg Boulevard ($10.7 million).
Public Works has applied for $32.3 million toward replacing the eastbound Kellogg Boulevard bridge near Saint Paul
RiverCentre. Federal officials will notify the city in late 2022 or early 2023 about that application. City officials have been seeking state dollars for years to replace the bridge, which was built in 1936.
Several other local projects are planned over the next five years. One of the biggest in 2023-2024 is the reconstruction of Minnesota Street in downtown at a cost of more than $18.2 million. Summit Avenue improvements are expected to cost $6.7 million in 2023, and Pleasant Avenue between Victoria and Saint Clair is penciled in for $4.3 million in 2025.
Municipal State Aid (MSA) will cover several area projects in the next five years. One is Grand Avenue’s reconstruction between Snelling and Fairview avenues, with Public Works earmarking $800,000 for design in 2023 and $6.7 million for construction in 2024. Another $350,000 is allocated for new signals at Grand and Fairview in 2024, as well as $502,000 for work on the Grand-Snelling intersection in cooperation with the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT).
Other 2023 MSA projects include the Shepard Road bridge near Otto Avenue at $500,000, and a $400,000 contribution to a MnDOT project on Snelling from Montreal Avenue to Ford Parkway. The city will be working with MnDOT on Snelling over the next five years.
Several other local projects are planned over the next five years. One of the biggest in 2023-2024 is the reconstruction of Minnesota Street in downtown at a cost of more than $18.2 million. Summit Avenue improvements are expected to cost $6.7 million in 2023, and Pleasant Avenue between Victoria and Saint Clair is penciled in for $4.3 million in 2025.
The city also plans to contribute $250,000 in MSA funds in 2023 toward construction of the B Line, a bus rapid transit system that will replace much of Route 21 along Marshall and Selby avenues. Another $527,279 will be allocated in 2024.
Sidewalks will be added on Marshall in 2023 between Albert Street and Snelling with $200,000 in MSA and $200,000 from Ramsey County. The county will also contribute $152,500 toward new sidewalks on Cleveland Avenue between Summit and Marshall in 2023.
Other MSA area projects in 2024 include cost sharing on various traffic signals at Randolph and Fairview avenues ($150,000), Cleveland Avenue and Highland Parkway ($150,000), and Snelling and Saint Clair avenues ($400,000).
Several other signal replacement projects are looking for a green light for 2025-2026. The largest local project pending for MSA is the West Seventh Street/Highway 5 MnDOT project, with a city share of $1.75 million for 2027.
Arterial street resurfacing projects are set for 2023-2024. The two local projects next year are Victoria Street between Summit and Concordia avenues, and Fairview Avenue between Randolph Avenue and Edgcumbe Road. Set for resurfacing in 2024 are Concordia and Saint Anthony avenues between Snelling and Marion Street.
Capital improvement bonds include $75,000 for safety improvements at the north end of Ayd Mill Road, and $30,000 for Raymond Avenue lighting.
Kurtz also noted the city has carryover projects from 2022 into 2023. That includes cleanup on the Griggs-Scheffer street project and work on Edgcumbe Road from Fairview to Saint Paul Avenue.
— Jane McClure
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