Roundabout project on Jean Duluth Road hits major snag ahead of ground break day

DULUTH, MN -- Construction on the roundabout at the intersection of Glenwood, Snively, and Jean Duluth roads has been delayed.

The project was approved earlier this year and was scheduled to break ground July 5.

“The intersection of Glenwood Street and Snively has seen major delays during the peak hours and we’ve been getting complaints for many years,” said Steve Krasaway, with St. Louis County Public Works, “We decided a roundabout was the best traffic control option to really make this intersection function all throughout the day.”

Due to unforeseen supply chain issues, the project was unable to get the steel needed to support the first steps of construction.

According to Krasaway, the project needs to update the surrounding sewer and runoff system before construction on the roundabout begins, since the roundabout would change the runoff pattern in the area, potentially resulting in pooling water.

Krasaway said the delay isn’t ideal.

“We wanted to build this roundabout when school was not in session from June to September, but during bidding in this winter, the contractors the suppliers said that wouldn’t be possible due to supply chain issues,” he said.

Fortunately, most state projects have been able to deal with any supply chain issues without delay.

“We’ve had a couple of minor hiccups where we’ve had things take a little longer but projects are still getting done on time,” said Andrew Deming an engineer with MNDOT.

Deming said even with shipment delays, contractors can often move around their projects to accommodate.

“If shipments are a few days to weeks late, they can kind of just change their schedule around to stay busy, keep the project on track,” he said.

As for the roundabout, there’s not much they can do, since they need the runoff system in place to move forward.

Road closures are scheduled to begin on July 18, and the project is projected to finish in early October.

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