News & Project Updates

A large crowd of folks (politicians, engineers, construction workers, employees and the general public) was on hand on Friday Nov 22nd  to formally celebrate the opening of the new Hadley / hwy 36 Interchange with the new Gateway Trail tunnel. 

The supporting groups of Washington County, MN DOT, MN DNR, City of Oakdale, GBCTA, contractors, Fleet Farm, MN State Legislature, Federal Highway Administration and others were all represented.  US Congresswoman Betty McCollum, MN Senator Chuck Wiger, and MN Congressman Leon Lillie  were among the many speakers praising the project team for a job well done. The honors of cutting the ribbon went to   Washington County Commissioner Stan Karwoski. (see picture below)

Another great safety improvement now in place on the Gateway Trail! Thank you all.

A large crew from NE Metro Intermediate School District 916 Career and Tech program were at Rotary Park North St Paul this month to work on finishing up the new restrooms project (funded by the North St. Paul Maplewood Oakdale Rotary Club and a $500 donation from GBCTA).

As of Oct 24th plumbing is in and work is being done for complete the exterior work and interior by the end of November.  Thank you to the 916 crew for your hard work and we wish you luck in your chosen career paths. 

Update: Nov 8th metal roof is on and Tyvek wrap is on

Picture from Nov 6

MN DNR Update to GBCTA Oct 24 2019

35E/Maryland Avenue Reroute – Project has now been funded. Design work will continue this fall; construction in 2020

Sewer project behind K Mart in St Paul- The city of St Paul has resumed the sewer construction work and the trail should be reopened in late October/early November 2019.

Westminster Bridge – design work continues; Construction work is expected in late spring/early summer 2020.

Hadley Ave – roads have reopened. Trail reopening in 2020; detour remains in place

Brown's Creek trail culvert (mile 0.25) repair will occur next spring

Maintenance- striping on the Gateway delayed by cold weather to spring 2020. 146 fallen trees were removed from the trail in 2019 YTD

Brown's Creek trail usage: average for last 15 months is 452 users per day, June – Aug 2019 daily average was 923

Gateway Extension update:

a) DNR is working on processing 2 easement acquisitions along the extension corridor in May Township (1) and Marine (1) .

b) DNR staff is continuing work on options for Gateway Extension through and /or in the vicinity of William O'Brien State park

c) All easements for the section of the trail from William O'Brien to Scandia have now been acquired.

d) A bonding request for the Scandia to William O Brien section is being prepared for submission to the MN state legislature in early 2020 by the City of Scandia. Get ready to support this in Feb/March 2020

New DNR data for the Brown's Creek Trail from the trail counter shows a new high of 30,785 users in month of July 2019 . The trail counter counts pedestrian and bicycle traffic . Here is the data in graphical form

1) At the S end the repair of the Westminster bridge is funded and expected to happen in 2020.

2) Hadley - the trail detour is still in place (and will be until spring 2020). The Hadley avenue bridge is now open for traffic so to cross hwy 36 you use the new bridge and 3 roundabouts. Access to the trailhead on 55th street is now via the new ramps off hwy 36 and the new bridge (if coming from N side). more details at :  https://www.co.washington.mn.us/2978/Construction-Updates

3) Willernie/Mahtomedi Washington County hwy 12: Downtown Willernie/Mahtomedi rebuild of hwy 12 (with more bike friendly features) is still in progress with road closure Warner to Macgregor) . Click here for More details

4) Lake Links trail around White Bear lake : New trail segments and Depot Creek covered bridge are under construction in N Mahtomedi for the Lake Links trail   (see lakelinks.net)

The completion of the Stillwater loop trail across the old St Croix Stillwater lift bridge is now delayed until spring 2020.

This year’s work included repairing steel, painting, upgrading the electrical and mechanical system, installing decorative lights and rebuilding the concourse area to restore the lift bridge to its original 1931 look. As of September, all spans of the bridge are painted, and old deteriorated concrete in the concourse and sidewalks at the Minnesota end of the bridge has been removed. Crews also started pouring new concrete. Span 6, two spans east of the lift span, will be floated back into place after the end of the boating season in mid- to late October. At that time, the lift span will be raised to serve boats until freeze-up. The move could be delayed depending on St. Croix River water levels. Crews floated span 6 out of position early this summer to allow for boat traffic while they worked on the lift span.Work will continue on the lift span throughout the rest of the year with the installation of drums, and the ring and pinion gears on the lift mechanism to raise and lower the lift span.

And although the loop trail is complete in both Minnesota and Wisconsin, the entire trail will not open until next spring after completion of the lift bridge.

A grand opening celebration is currently planned for 10 am May 16th 2020 by Stillwater City Council. (info as of Sept 2019)

Latest updates see here:

It was a delightful fall evening on Oct 18th for the DNR candlelight walk along the Brown's Creek trail attended by nearly 300 people. Thanks to Rachel H, Linda R and the DNR team for hosting and providing snacks and warm campfire. Thanks also to the GBCTA volunteers who helped with set up and take down.

Hey bicyclists! Washington County wants to hear from you about bike routes, current trouble spots for riders, and more. A $145,000 study has been funded to create a Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan. The county is responding to a public opinion survey indicating there is a demand for safe and connected carbon-free transportation options.

The bike routes being designed are for recreational use and transportation usage and apply to county roads only, not city roads nor state highways.

County officials and a consulting firm will use the info gathered from the public to create a blueprint for bike route development. They will build off of the existing network of trails, paved shoulders, and sidewalks and create new portions of trails where there are gaps.

The resulting recommendations will be short-term, medium-term, and long-term, although no funding has yet been set aside for implementation of the plan once it is complete. However, there will be opportunities for local bike enthusiasts and nonprofits to contribute to the infrastructure with grants and donations to help fund peripheral aspects to bike trails, such as bike repair stations. The survey is here: LINK to SURVEY

Please contribute your thoughts (especially in respect to county roads or parks on or near or that you use to access the Gateway Brown's Creek trail). Please also think about and suggest any trail needs that would make the Gateway Browns Creek Trail part of a bigger more comprehensive active transportation network. 

Thanks

Ian Harding

GBCTA Volunteers were out on the trail recently at 6 sites along the Gateway removing graffiti.

The crew of volunteers was : Melvin Croatt, Mel Peterson, Woody Croatt , Marcy Otypka, John Kimberly, and Pam Meyer (team leader).

The DNR support was Dave Olson who provided the paint and rollers, safety vests and cones. He was great support following in the DNR truck with supplies as volunteers road between 6 sites on their bikes.

Contact us by email  if you'd like to help !

Several key developments for the extension of the Gateway Trail north from Pine Point towards Scandia were discussed at a recent meeting of GBCTA and the DNR .

Please find the key points here