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What will Highway 57 construction through Mantorville mean for area businesses?
It depends who you talk to.
Community leaders urge those affected to remain positive, but business owners are concerned they will take a hit when the Minnesota Department of Transportation comes through.
“We all hate it,” Lynette Nash said. “Is there any question that we all are going to hate it? But we just had a meeting and I think we’ll come up with creative ideas for how to spin it positively.”
The Chocolate Shoppe owner added, “We’re looking to do some creative things to make it fun and to get people to come over and spend some time. I think it’s doable.”
“We are very concerned,” said Nick Powers, president of Powers Ventures, which owns The Hubbell House in Mantorville. “We are hoping that we will be able to open our normal hours of business this year but it is yet to be seen. We are concerned about all Mantorville businesses.”
As for what’s planned, it’s reconstruction of Highway 57 from the south branch middle fork Zumbro bridge to 9th Street in Mantorville. The work is scheduled for this summer.
MnDOT will, as part of the project, reconstruct the roadway base, construct a new driving surface, replace stormwater pipes and upgrade pedestrian and bike facilities. A detour will be in place to route traffic around the project, said Laura Qualey, community and business development specialist with the Community and Economic Development Associates (CEDA).
Qualey says her role is to provide support for the area business community and, as such, she is working on ways to assist the businesses with developing a proactive approach to the upcoming construction. “... making sure the business owners, their employees and their customers are informed and prepared is the best way to make the construction project easiest on everyone.”
She is also working on developing spring bounce-back promotions that can only be redeemed during the summer construction season months. Another goal is to have “consistent signage,” she said, which will make it easier for visitors to navigate and find public parking and alternative business entrances if the main entrances are obstructed.
In time, there will be a Facebook page dedicated to the project, which will provide updates about the Mantorville construction project as well as progress reports, Qualey said. There may also be in-person “Coffee and Conversation” updates weekly or every other week, she said.
Another positive result of the project will be slower traffic along Highway 57 through Mantorville, said Brandyn Chezick, design engineer for the project. When roadways are narrowed, as 57 will be, drivers’ natural reaction is to slow down, he said.
Also, Chezick notes the pedestrian improvements of the project are significant. There will be “bump outs” at 5th Street to provide a shorter distance to cross Highway 57 and better sight distance to check for vehicles. Sidewalks will be added from the bridge to 4th Street and from 7th to 9th Street so pedestrians don’t need to walk on the shoulder.
“Pedestrian improvements are a big safety component of this project,” Chezick said.
“It’s not going to be a lot of fun,” Nash said of the construction. “We need to make sure people know we’re not closed just because they decided to dig a giant hole in front of the building.”
“The big message is that the end product is going to be great for Mantorville,” Qualey added. “We’ll have new, fresh sidewalks, intersections and roadways. You have to embrace it. You can’t stop it. It’s putting a positive spin on it. It’s a matter of having a good attitude going in.”