Project Overview

Fifth Street from Washington Street to Prairie Street is scheduled for improvements in accordance with the City of Northfield’s Capital Improvement Plan.  In addition, segments of Oak Street, Union Street and Winona Street have been added to the original project scope.  These blocks show evidence of long individual services originating on 5th Street.  These services often cross several properties and can ultimately be difficult to locate, as well as end up beneath structures. 

In general, the results of the soils and pavement testing indicate that the street sections within the project area are underlain with fill containing sandy lean clay.  The conditions of the streets have reached a point where maintenance procedures such as seal coating or milling and overlaying are no longer cost effective.  Therefore, reconstruction of the street is recommended. The recommended pavement section is twenty (20) inches thick and includes 4" of bituminous pavement, 8" of aggregate base, and 8” of select granular material.  This pavement design was based off of the existing subgrade soils and the expected traffic volumes and loadings that 5th Street will experience. Local soft, unstable and/or areas containing organic material within the subgrade will be excavated and replaced with stable material as they are encountered during construction.

The street is proposed to be narrowed to 36’ (curb face – curb face) which is more typical of a residential street width, will help reduce traffic speeds, result in decreased cost, a decrease in impervious surface area and less tree impact.  It is recommended that parking be prohibited on the north side of the street.  Fifth Street, between Washington Street and Union Street, is proposed to remain 40’ wide (curb face – curb face) to accommodate parking for the local businesses.  Union Street and Winona Street would be reconstructed to their existing width of 40’.  Oak Street is recommended to be widened to 32’ from the existing 30’ width to stay consistent with City Ordinances for residential street width.

The concrete curb and gutter will be replaced throughout the corridor as well as the concrete walk.  New concrete walk is proposed to be constructed along the areas of 5th Street that did not previously have walk, consistent with the city ordinance to construct sidewalks on both sides of a collector street.  Both opposition to and support for installing sidewalks on both sides rather than one side of the street was expressed at the neighborhood meetings.

All existing driveway aprons will be replaced with new concrete aprons between the street and sidewalk to match the existing driveways to the new street grades.  Sidewalks will be thickened to a 6” depth thru driveway areas to help ensure less damage from vehicle loads.  The existing street signing, including stop signs and street name signs, will be removed and reinstalled by the contractor as necessary. 

The pedestrian curb ramps will be constructed with truncated dome detectable warning systems in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). 

The existing trees will be protected from the construction as much as possible.  Due to the mature nature of the majority of the trees, some of the canopies will require trimming during utility excavation.  The areas disturbed by the construction will be re-graded to match the new street grades and restored with residential lawn type sod.  Also, boulevards will be re-graded as necessary to help improve drainage where necessary.  The residents in the area generally seemed concerned about tree removal.  During preliminary design, the proposed street grades were established to match closely to the existing curb elevations to minimize grading impacts in the boulevards.  The addition of the streets being narrowed will also reduce tree impacts.  Some areas will need to have grade adjustments to accommodate drainage and city staff intends to work closely with the residents as we move into final design to inform them of any impacts and possible resolutions.

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