State Shutdown Stalls Highway 610 Road Project in Maple Grove

The shutdown of the state government in Minnesota brought to a halt several road construction projects around the state, including the nearly completed Highway 610 project in Maple Grove. 

The Highway 610 project, which has been in the works since 2009, was less than a month from completion when the state shutdown happened. Now, it's a waiting game as to when the project will be done.

“We have residents that have experienced extensive construction activities close to their home for almost two years. They were looking forward to the dust, noise and inconvenience of a large construction project going away,” Maple Grove Traffic Engineer Marc Culver said. “This will certainly extend that time.”

Some federally funded projects were shut down July 1 because of MnDOT’s role in overseeing the project or in serving as a conduit for the federal money, Kevin Gutknecht, MnDOT Communications Director said. Highway 610 is one such project impacted.

According to Culver, the  “aren’t any direct financial impacts” for the city of Maple Grove from the shutdown of the project.

“Perhaps the biggest concern is just the general inconvenience that remains for the residents that live in and drive through that area,” he said. “They have put up with quite a bit through this project. They deserve to be able to move on with a finished project.”

As time goes with the project halted, additional issues could arise.

“There are pieces of the project that are incomplete. 96th Avenue serving Zachary Square and the Park and Ride lot has areas of open gravel, which will be more of an issue as the shutdown goes longer,” Culvers said.

Gutknecht said he wasn’t sure yet whether a shutdown might result in lawsuits from companies that contract with the state or businesses in the vicinity of suspended road construction projects. Another remaining question is how much the shutdown will cost MnDOT in de-mobilization and re-mobilization and other additional costs, he said.

“We’re going to have to wait and see,” he said.

 “(A shutdown will) certainly slow down schedules, it certainly affects the employees of the contractors who are not doing work, it certainly affects state employees who are going to be laid off,” Gutknecht said the day before the state government shutdown. There are “concentric rings of organizations and people,” he said, that will be affected in a shutdown from providers of construction materials to construction project subcontractors to the gas stations where construction workers usually stop and fuel up on their way to work.

Despite the negative impacts the state shutdown had on multiple transportation projects, the reopening of Zachary Lane was a bright spot for many Maple Grove residents.

“We were fortunate to get Zachary Lane back open on Thursday night [June 30] before the shutdown, thanks to the diligent efforts of the contractor and the pressuring of MnDOT,” Culver said. “The project is relatively close to completion, so hopefully when the project starts up again, we can see completion in a short period of time.”