Painting Project Causes Bemidji To Change Policy

Crews paint in Bemidji on Thursday afternoon.

The City of Bemidji has changed some of its policies after a painting project caused nearly standstill traffic for two miles through the downtown area.

Crews have been painting streetlamp posts on Paul Bunyan Drive as part of routine maintenance. Parts of the decorative poles have begun to rust due to salt and sand corrosion.

City Manager Nate Mathews says that with the bypass and Division Street detours, a bottleneck of traffic has been created through the town.

Because of the traffic caused during rush hour, crews have been advised not to funnel traffic into one lane on Highway 197 to complete the project after 3:30 PM each day. The traffic was backed up to 15th Street SW and Bemidji Ave N starting around 4 PM on Wednesday.

The project is expected to be completed next week.