South Sixth Street Project In Brainerd To Start in April

As the 2018 construction season will soon get underway, the City of Brainerd is long overdue for their reconstruction of South Sixth Street that will finally take place starting in April.

Business owners along South Sixth Street had lots of questions for MnDOT Construction Manager Joseph Cameron and voiced concerns about how the project will affect access into their businesses.

“I’m giving out my email address, I’m giving out my phone number, I’m introducing them to the people that will be on the ground and I am saying, if you have a problem, please get a hold of us,” Cameron said.

Cameron is also no stranger to projects in the Brainerd Lakes Area.

“I did Highway 210 through town, I did Highway 210 through Baxter and I did the Brainerd bypass up that direction,” Cameron said.

But for his final project before retirement, the construction will begin at Highway 210 and head down Sixth Street to the intersection at Joseph Street, with the current highway being over 60 years old and city utilities over 100 years old.

“The sanitary sewer system is failing, the water system is failing, and so we have to get down there and replace that sort of stuff, “ said Cameron.

But the changes come with a price for the City of Brainerd, in addition to the $5.7 million-dollar price tag.

“Is it going to be easy? No,” said Mayor Ed Menk. “But the bottom line is, we will survive it and it won’t have to be done for another hundred years.”

The construction will improve the road surface, pedestrian safety measures and city utilities.

“There will be a little pain involved while it is getting done, but after that, it will be great,” said Thomas Thompson, the Owner of Tom’s Backhoe.

Construction is set to be complete by October 2018. If you would still like more information about the project, there is a public open house set for March 20 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Brainerd. For more information on the open house, click here.