Portion Of Superior Street To Close Starting April 12 For Completion Of Reconstruction Project
The final phases in the Superior Street Reconstruction Project will get underway this spring, wrapping up a multi-year effort to update aging underground utilities and refresh the surface level for modern vehicle and pedestrian traffic.
The City of Duluth explains that the final aspects of the project will focus on two different areas, consisting of Phase A and Phase B of this year's work.
Starting April 12, Phase A of work will get underway along the portion of Superior Street involved in Phase 3 of the overall project (west of 1st Avenue to 3rd Avenue West). It will be closed to traffic as the finishing touches are put on the area. This includes replacing the temporary asphalt pavement put down at the end of last year's constructions season with concrete pavement on the roadway and replacing the pedestrian surface with the new, permanent surface for this area. The projected end date of this work is June 11.
Phase B of this summer's work will focus on the area of Superior Street east of 3rd Avenue East through 4th Avenue East. This portion of the project is expected to start on June 21, and conclude August 31.
Timeframes for the project are contingent on cooperative weather.
Impacts during the work will include vehicular and pedestrian detours, similar to other parts of the project. Pedestrian traffic will be maintained during regular business hours, except during short, coordinated periods. On-street parking will not be available in areas where the work is being completed.
The city reminds the public that a number of ramps are offering free one-hour parking in lieu of the street parking that is being impacted by this work. Parking in these ramps for longer than an hour will still result in normal parking fees. Participating ramps offering up to an hour of free parking include the following:
- Civic Center Ramp—410 West First Street
- Tech Village Ramp—10 East First Street
- Duluth Transportation Center—228 West Michigan Street
- 4th Avenue Auto Park—402 West Michigan Street
- Hart District Ramp—125 East Superior Street
- Medical District Ramp—302 East First Street
The project, which began in 2018, set out to modernize the roadway to accommodate current and forecasted future vehicular traffic while moving to lower-maintenance surface materials, improve accommodations for public transit, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic, update street parking, updating aging utilities, and create downtown public spaces for events, among other things. You can follow the latest on the project here.