Anoka - Highway 10 - Project Updates

A crew from Michels Corporation, CenterPoint Energy’s authorized contractor, plans to finish the project’s natural gas work in the next two weeks. Currently they are connecting the service lines to the new main along Main Street, and they are replacing the main on Church Street. The crew plans to remove the traffic barriers from Main Street by the end of the day today on Thursday, October 28. Q3 Contracting, CenterPoint Energy’s authorized contractor, plans to permanently restore the areas affected by Michels Corporation’s work.

Since early October, CenterPoint Energy’s authorized contractor Michels Corporation has replaced the project’s natural gas mains along Verndale Avenue, Brighton Street and Oak Street and along Highway 10 from Anoka Technical College to Fairoak Avenue. They plan to finish the project’s natural gas work in mid-November. They have been replacing the natural gas main and connecting service lines to the new main.

A crew has been working on the north side of Highway 10 by Better Values Liquor West. This week, they will begin working on Fairoak Avenue. They are not impacting traffic in both areas.

This week, crews from Michels Corporation, CenterPoint Energy’s authorized contractor, replaced the natural gas mains on the north side of Highway 10 and on Jacob Lane within the traffic closure set up by the City of Anoka. In the week of October 4, they will replace the main on Greenhaven Road at Jacob Lane. Flaggers may be on site to help direct traffic on Greenhaven Road. In approximately two weeks, the crews will replace the main across Highway 10 with lane shifts.

This week, a crew from Michels Corporation, CenterPoint Energy’s authorized contractor, connected the natural gas service lines to the new mains on Euclid Avenue and Verndale Avenue. They are replacing the main on Greenhaven Parkway. In the week of September 20, another Michels Corporation crew will begin replacing the main along Highway 10 at Thurston Avenue.

Crews from Michels Corporation, CenterPoint Energy’s authorized contractor, are replacing the natural gas mains on Verndale Avenue, Brighton Street and Euclid Avenue. Work will resume after Labor Day. Traffic devices will remain over any open excavations. We wish you a happy holiday weekend!

For a short time in June and July, crews from Michels Corporation, CenterPoint Energy’s authorized contractor, began replacing the project’s natural gas plastic mains. They put existing natural gas mains out of service at Euclid Avenue and Brighton Street and at Oak Street and Fairoak Avenue. They completed an offset and replaced natural gas plastic main on Oak Street between Euclid and Fairoak Avenues. In July, the crews moved to other CenterPoint Energy projects.

This week, they returned to the project site. They began replacing the plastic mains on Verndale Avenue, Brighton Street, Fairoak Avenue and Jerome Street. At the same time, the City of Anoka is replacing these streets’ roads and curbs. When these streets are finished with the main replacement and restoration, the crews will begin replacing the plastic main on Highway 10.

From late July to late summer or fall 2021, CenterPoint Energy’s authorized contractors will work in Anoka along the following roads: Highway 10 and the south frontage road between Anoka Technical College and Church Street; Verndale Avenue, Brighton Street, and Oak Street north of Highway 10; and Fairoak Avenue and Church Street south of Highway 10. While Michels Corporation will replace natural gas mains, connect the natural gas service lines to the new mains, and move any inside residential meters outside, Q3 Contracting will restore the areas affected by Michels Corporation’s work.

For most of the project’s duration, parking and/or lane closures will occur. Flaggers may be on site directing traffic. On some streets, sidewalk closures will alternate to maintain pedestrian access. For a few blocks at a time between Cutters Grove Avenue and Fairoak Avenue, the crews will close one lane of Highway 10 heading southeast and will turn the road into a one-way street heading northwest. The cross streets and parking lot entrances along this road will remain open. Detour signs will lead drivers to Cutters Grove Avenue.

The construction crews and personnel will continue to use the Covid-19 Customer Permission Flyer, which requests customer permission prior to entering homes. Personnel, contractors and CenterPoint Energy employees will continue to practice CDC guidelines regarding social distancing, sanitary practices and wearing face masks when entering customer homes.

The customer will receive a CenterPoint Energy postcard in the mail typically within one or two weeks prior to the day when the Michels Corporation crews will perform the work. The crews will have CenterPoint Energy-authorized photo IDs stating that they are employees of Michels Corporation.

After the customer receives the postcard, the foreman will arrive at the customer’s house to schedule an appointment that typically meets with the customer’s schedule. If the customer isn’t home when they arrives, he will leave a door tag with his contact information to schedule an appointment with him.

Customers are advised to set aside a two- to four-hour time frame for the inside-to-outside gas meter move. They are also advised to mark their privately-installed utilities such as dog fences or sprinklers. Marking can be accomplished with tools such as spray paint or utility flags. The foreman will access the natural gas meter inside the house, move the meter outside, and relight the natural gas appliance pilot lights after the new meter has been relocated.

Customers with outside meters will be notified prior to the replacement or connection of the service lines to the new mains. Areas affected by our work will be restored to their original condition.

Crews from Q3 Contracting, CenterPoint Energy’s authorized contractor, will follow to restore the areas affected by Michels Corporation’s work, including hard and soft surfaces. On the soft surfaces such as boulevards and lawns, various erosion control measures keep the restored area moist, hold seed in the soil, and enhance seed germination. If an erosion blanket is needed it is secured in place with staples. The mesh is a wood fiber that will completely degrade. Prior to mowing the restored area, remove any loose staples that secured the blanket.