Community Corner

Severe Weather Delays Wagon Wheel Trail Project

Xcel Energy has been busy restoring service throughout the metro.

 The neighborhood reconstruction project has been delayed by the severe weather experienced throughout the metro.

Construction was initially scheduled to begin in July.

“We were hoping Xcel (Energy) was going to be onsite July 18,” said Assistant City Engineer Ryan Ruzek, “but due to all the heat outages and storm damage they were required to delay the start of work.”

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When the power goes out in , or a fallen tree takes out a , Xcel Energy is obligated by state law to fix those situations first.

A number of utlities must be moved before construction can begin on Wagon Wheel.

Find out what's happening in Mendota Heightswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Initially, the delay was projected to put the project back another two weeks. Ruzek received notice on Wednesday that underground work could begin next week.

Due to this and other delays, the completion date has also been recalculated from Oct. 7 to around Halloween.

Thus far, the impact to residents has been minimal. The road is still paved allowing access to driveways.

Residents were notified by mail, but resident Mary Bebel said she heard of delays from a neighbor, then contacted city engineer John Mazzitello for the details. Bebel said she doesn’t mind if the project is delayed because it would give her more time to save the $8,500 assessment.

While McNamara Contracting hasn’t rolled in the heavy equipment yet, a number of projects have been completed in preparation. The city removed some trees and brush. New residential service gas lines were installed and a number of lines have been moved for transmission and cable.

Residents can visit the Mendota Heights city website for updates on the Wagon Wheel Trail neighborhood improvements.


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