Halfway home

Shifting gears.
The Hwy. 200 reconstruction project shifted south Monday morning — and shut down Caledonia Avenue, arguably the busiest intersection in the city.
The $2.9 million project now technically past the halfway point. Work on the north end of the city’s primary north-south thoroughfare is in “tidy up” mode.  
Residents can expect that their mailboxes will be replanted on the new boulevards by next Thursday. Sorum’s Oil has a driveway again — and business was almost back to normal after weeks of isolation in the orange-barrel detour zone.
Now the south end of Hwy. 200  — about five blocks from Caledonia Avenue to past the armory — is the focus of heavy equipment operators.
Project manager Terry Olson of KLJ Engineers is keeping one on the weather forecast and the other on the crews working extra long hours and weekends.
“We don’t need the rain,” the veteran roadman said.
Rain slowed progress on the north half of the project in June. In addition to the roadwork, the city is installing underground utility improvements — storm  sewers, sanitary sewers and water lines. Olson said that work is progressing better than had been.
Olson smiled at the sight of the new concrete road north of Caledonia Avenue. “Drives good, looks good. I like it.”
“We’ll have to hurry for the rest of it,” Olson added.
Caledonia is scheduled to reopen August 17 but that may be delayed as much as week, Olson speculated. The roadway is supposed to be re-opened September 10 — just in time for the annual sugar beet harvest and the accompanying truck traffic headed to the American Crystal Sugar beet plant north of town.