Vernon Avenue & Highway 100 Interchange Project

Road Closure beginning April 23: Vernon Avenue and 50^th Street between Interlachen Blvd and Grange Road with the exception of the on- and off-ramps to Highway 100 will close on April 23. The Grandview Businesses and the 50^th & France Business District are open and accessible during the project. The local detours are shown here. Remember to log in April 17 at 11 am here to learn more about the project. Thanks, Chad Millner, City Engineer.

The Vernon Avenue and Highway 100 Interchange Project is scheduled to start April 21. The contractor is targeting April 23 to close Vernon Avenue and 50^th Street between Interlachen Blvd and Grange Road with the exception of the on and off-ramps to Highway 100. Remember to log in April 17 at 11 am to learn more about the project at EdinaMN.gov/Highway100Talks or EdinaMN.gov/highway100talks. This is a re-occurring meeting Thursday mornings every other week during the project. A recap of the April 3 meeting can be found here.

Recap: Vernon / 50th Interchange Project Bi-Weekly Public Meeting Thursday, April 3.

Thanks, Chad Millner, City Engineer.

PowerPoint Slides can be found in the document area linked here.

https://www.bettertogetheredina.org/20963/widgets/69150/documents/66396

Tree removals for the project have been completed. Staff provided a project update at the April 1 City Council Works Session. We discussed schedule, management of traffic, communications, and funding. We will be asking council to award a contract to Ames Construction on April 16. The exact schedule is still being developed but will be available soon. Remember to log in tomorrow at 11 am to learn more about the project at EdinaMN.gov/Highway100Talks or EdinaMN.gov/highway100talks. This is the first of many Thursday morning meetings available every other week during the project. Thanks, Chad Millner, City Engineer.

Come learn about the upcoming Vernon Avenue & Highway 100 Interchange Project. City Engineer Chad Millner will host a virtual public meeting. All are welcome to join this 30-minute meeting. The first meeting will occur on April 3 at 11 am. This meeting will re-occur every 2-weeks until the project is completed on Thursdays at 11 am. To participate, type either of the following addresses into a web browser.

EdinaMN.gov/Highway100Talks

EdinaMN.gov/highway100talks

A big milestone was completed on Thursday, March 13, construction bids were received. We received two bids for construction of the project. They were from Ames Construction at $22.06 million and C.S. McCrossan at $22.45 million. These were at the engineers estimate. The state is reviewing the required contracting paperwork. If everything meets the requirements, we will ask the City Council to award a contract on April 16. The schedule that was included in the bid documents required Vernon Ave and 50^th Street to be re-opened to traffic by November 15, 2025. We are still discussing schedule with the contractor.

The City Council awarded a tree removal contract last night. Removals are tentatively planned for the last two weeks of March. Due to the delay caused by CPKS Railroad in signing an easement agreement, a separate contract for tree removals is required. The trees need to be removed before March 31. This contract will remove all the necessary trees to make space for the new bridges, highway interchange and noise walls. The highway interchange project is out to bid now with an anticipated award date of April 16. Trees are located along Highway 100 near City Hall, adjacent to the northbound Highway 100 on-ramp, around both the Highway 100 and Vernon Ave bridges and near CPKC Railroad tracks. A copy of the tree removal plans is posted to the documents area of this website. Thanks, Chad Millner, City Engineer

Due to the delay caused by CPKS Railroad in signing an easement agreement, a separate contract for tree removals is required. The trees need to be removed before March 31 to ensure no protected species have nested yet. This contract will remove all the necessary trees to make space for the new bridges, highway interchange and noise walls. The highway interchange project is out to bid now with an anticipated award date of April 16. Trees are located along Highway 100 near City Hall, adjacent to the northbound Highway 100 on-ramp, around both the Highway 100 and Vernon Ave bridges and near CPKC Railroad tracks. Council will consider awarding this contract on March 4. Work will start soon afterwards. Thanks

The bid documents will be posted later this week or early next week soliciting a contractor. The bid opening is scheduled for March 6. The contract award is scheduled for April 16 City Council Meeting. Construction can start as soon as April 21. The selected contractor will provide a detailed construction schedule with major milestones. This schedule will allow us to communicate construction specifics with the public. There is still a possibility the project is completed this year. Thanks, Chad Millner, City Engineer.

The project has received the signed easement agreement from CPKC Railroad. The project can now move forward. The team is developing bidding and construction schedules. Federal money is a large portion of the project funding and it comes with rules on the timing of the project. Private utility companies are starting relocations now. Tree clearing work is also required to be done before the end of March. Thanks for your patience with the unknown schedule. More details will be coming soon.

The recent article has generated lots of questions related to traffic during the project. Staff created a staging narrative memo during the design process. That memo has been uploaded to the document section of this site. Please note this staging narrative is draft and without a contractor yet. Thanks, Chad Millner, City Engineer.