Edina - Morningside Neighborhood - Project Updates

This week between Monday, August 8 and Friday, August 12, a crew from Michels Corporation, CenterPoint Energy’s authorized contractor, plans to replace a final portion of a large-diameter natural gas steel main that was added to the project’s route. They are working on 42nd Street W. at Grimes Avenue S. Restoration will follow by Q3 Contracting, CenterPoint Energy’s authorized contractor, outside the limits of the City of Edina’s Morningside D & E Neighborhood Roadway Reconstruction.

Until Friday, July 29, CenterPoint Energy’s authorized contractor, Michels Corporation, will continue to replace a large-diameter natural gas steel main. So far, they have replaced the main on Lynn Avenue from 42nd Street W. to Morningside Road and on 42nd Street W. from Lynn to Grimes Avenues.

During this time, the crew has closed Morningside Road from Lynn Avenue to Sidell Trail. They are working with the City of Edina’s Morningside D & E Neighborhood Roadway Reconstruction.

On Monday, June 20, a crew from Michels Corporation, CenterPoint Energy’s authorized contractor, will begin replacing the project’s large-diameter natural gas steel main. They will replace the mains along the following streets in their respective orders: Lynn Avenue, working north from Morningside Road to 42nd Street W.; 42nd Street W., working east from Lynn to Grimes Avenues; Grimes Avenue, working south from 42nd Street W. to Morningside Road; and Morningside Road, working east from Wooddale to Lynn Avenues.

As the crews work on each street, they will close the street to through traffic and move their traffic signs as they progress. During this time, parking will be restricted on both sides of the street in these areas.

A crew from Michels Corporation, CenterPoint Energy’s authorized contractor, plans to finish replacing the project’s natural gas mains by the end of this week. During this time, the crew will have replaced the mains on Branson Street and Grimes Avenue south of Branson Street. They will also have connected the new main to the existing intersecting main at Crocker Avenue and Morningside Road. Last week, they replaced the main on Crocker Avenue.

Another Michels Corporation crew has been following the first crew. They have been connecting the service lines to the new mains and moving inside meters outside. This week, they are working on Oakdale Avenue, Littel Street, and Lynn Avenue. When they are finished with their work, they will backfill the areas they excavated.

A crew from Q3 Contracting, CenterPoint Energy’s authorized contractor, will follow to restore the areas affected by Michels Corporation’s work outside the limits of the City of Edina’s Morningside D & E Neighborhood Roadway Reconstruction. While the city plans to restore the hard surfaces, Q3 Contracting plans to restore the boulevards and lawns.

On Thursday, April 28 and Friday, April 29, the crew will replace the main under the north sidewalk of Branson Street from Grimes to Oakdale Avenues. Parking will be restricted on the north side of Branson Street.

In the week of May 2, a crew from Michels Corporation, CenterPoint Energy’s authorized contractor, will replace the natural gas main lines under the east sidewalk of Oakdale Avenue between Branson Street and Morningside Road, and within the east boulevard of Ottawa Avenue S. between Morningside Road and 42nd 1/2 Street W. During this time, parking will be restricted on the eastern side of Oakdale Avenue, and the eastern side of Ottawa Avenue S. in these areas.

In the week of April 25, a crew from Michels Corporation, CenterPoint Energy’s authorized contractor, will replace the natural gas main under the east sidewalk of Grimes Avenue between 42nd and 44th Streets W. in addition to the north sidewalk of Branson Street between Grimes and Oakdale Avenues. During this time, parking will be restricted on the eastern side of Grimes Avenue and the northern side of Branson Street in this area.

A crew from Michels Corporation, CenterPoint Energy’s authorized contractor, is finishing the natural gas main replacement on 42nd Street W. from Oakdale to Grimes Avenues. On Tuesday, April 19, they plan to begin replacing the main on Morningside Road. Between Ottawa and Grimes Avenues, the main replacement on this road will take approximately one or two weeks. This will include work on Lynn and Crocker Avenues along Morningside Road. When the crew is done replacing the main on Morningside Road, they will start on Grimes Avenue. Lane and parking restrictions will occur on the side of the road where the crews are working.

On Monday, April 11, a crew from Michels Corporation, CenterPoint Energy’s authorized contractor, will begin replacing the natural gas mains on Oakdale Avenue from 42nd Street W. to Littel Street and on Littel Street from Oakdale to Lynn Avenues. Within the same week, the crew will work along 42nd Street W. to connect the new natural gas main to the intersecting existing mains at the intersections of Monterey, Lynn and Kipling Avenues. Lane and parking restrictions will occur on the side of the road where the crews are working.

A crew from Michels Corporation, CenterPoint Energy’s authorized contractor, is continuing to replace the main on 42nd Street W. between Oakdale and Grimes Avenues S. into the week of April 11. They will also work this Saturday, April 9 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. to expedite the construction.

If you have private underground utilities, such as sprinklers, invisible dog fences, drain tile, private wells, or septic tanks, please mark them so the crews know their location. You can mark with materials such as spray paint, utility flag, paint mixer, or whatever material is convenient for you. For sprinklers, marking the heads is sufficient. We are not liable for damages to unmarked lines.

We apologize for the error when describing the traffic impacts. Three crews from Michels Corporation will replace natural gas lines on all the project’s streets. One crew is replacing the plastic main, which is small in diameter. During the replacement, the crews will close parking and lanes on the side of the road where they’re working. They don’t require a full road closure.

The second crew will connect the service lines to this new main and move any inside residential meters outside. They may also close parking and lanes on the side of the road where they’re working.

The third crew will coordinate the timing of its work with the City of Edina’s Morningside D & E Neighborhood Roadway Reconstruction. They will replace the large-diameter steel natural gas main on the following streets: Morningside Road from Wooddale to Lynn Avenues S., Lynn Avenue S. from Morningside Road to 42nd Street W. and 42nd Street W. from Lynn to Grimes Avenues S. They plan to replace the mains on one street at a time, tentatively beginning in June.

During this time, each road will be closed to through traffic where the crews are working. Since the crews weld the pieces of the pipe together, the steel main replacement requires open excavation and takes longer to install than the small-diameter plastic main. Time spent on each block will vary due to the size of the block, the steel offsets, the restoration preparation, and the weather.

The fourth and final crew working for CenterPoint Energy, Q3 Contracting, will restore the areas affected by Michels Corporation’s work outside the limits of the city’s work.

A crew from Michels Corporation, CenterPoint Energy’s authorized contractor, will begin the project on Monday, April 4. For at least one week, they plan to replace the natural gas main on 42nd Street W. between Oakdale and Grimes Avenues, closing 42nd Street W. to through traffic. Flaggers may be on site helping direct traffic. In addition to closing parking on 42nd Street W., the crews plan to close parking on Oakdale Avenue from 42nd Street W. to Littel Street.

From Monday, April 4 into summer 2022, CenterPoint Energy’s authorized contractors will work along select streets in Edina’s Morningside Neighborhood. While Michels Corporation will replace the natural gas mains, connect the natural gas service lines to the new mains, and move any inside meters outside, Q3 Contracting will restore the areas affected by Michels Corporation’s work outside the limits of the City of Edina’s Morningside D & E Neighborhood Roadway Reconstruction.

As the crews work on a few blocks at a time, they plan to close these blocks to through traffic. Parking on the road will be restricted in areas of active construction. Flaggers may be on site to help traffic flow.

The crews will help residents maintain access. Residents can keep their garbage and recycling bins on their driveways. Trucks such as garbage and delivery will still be able to access residents’ homes.

We apologize for the inconvenience as we upgrade our natural gas lines. We hope to make the construction process run smoothly and efficiently.

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.

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.