Xcel Project Digs into Lilydale Garden Center's Spring

A project by Xcel Energy in front of has put a damper on an otherwise beautiful start to the growing season.

The project, which began in mid-April, has dug up the road in front of the garden center’s driveway, and created a visual field of orange cones and heavy equipment.

“It’s been pretty frightening. So far we’re surviving,” said co-owner Sandy Herrick.

The garden center usually does one-third of the year’s entire business in the month of May, and the timing couldn’t be worse, she said.

Xcel is removing a casing that surrounds a pipeline, according  to Nick Boosalis, senior specialty engineer at Xcel. Casings have fallen out of favor in the pipeline business because they can come into contact with the pipe and cause corrosion. They are also expensive to inspect.

Herrick said there’s no reason the project had to be done now, and had the business received any warning, they would have put a stop to it.

Boosalis said they are doing the work now so the project can be finished before MnDOT’s work on Highway 13 begins just north of the location.

The project is not related to the construction of Lilydale Senior Living.

Boosalis said the project should be finished by Wednesday weather permitting, but that’s cutting it awfully close to Memorial Day weekend, one of the busiest gardening weekends of the year.

So far the nice weather and lighted message signs telling customers that the garden center is still open have helped sustain some business despite the construction.

“We have very loyal customers and they really do everything they can to support us,” said Herrick.