.png">At their Feb. 8 meeting Luverne City Council members approved the plans and specifications to extend Dakota Road in the industrial park.
This project will extend Dakota Road to the west to carry traffic for the expanding industrial complex of the Lineage Logistics Freezer Plant and Premium Minnesota Pork.
“It’s a big project and it’s really exciting to see this kick off,” said Luverne Mayor Pat Baustian.
“It’s a great facility in a great location and it’s great for our industrial tax base.”
The extended road will not only carry traffic for the industries but serve as a second entry and exit for the expanding industrial area, making the traffic patterns safer on the adjacent County Road 4.
The city is also applying for a state grant (Business Development and Public Infrastructure) to assist with 50 percent of the funding of this vital project.
The Feb. 8 resolution authorizes advertising and setting a bid date for March 10.
Company officials have indicated dirt moving will start March 15.
Baustian noted the Walleye Wind project, the Lineage freezer warehouse construction and the new Armory, among other projects, will make for a busy construction season this year.
“With Walleye wind … they’ll need 727 yards of concrete for each tower, and then three football fields worth of flat work at the freezer warehouse,” Baustian said. “There’s going to be a lot of concrete needed in Luverne.”
Power plant construction
Bills have started coming in for Luverne’s $11 million electric and power plant improvement project.
At their Tuesday, Feb. 8, meeting, council members approved the first payment of $224,410 to Rice Lake Construction, which has mobilized onsite at the power plant.
Progress and work completed in the first pay period includes removal of engine room floor, selective demolition, foundation work for the engine floor and mobilization at work site.
When this project is completed, there will be two large generators with a combined capacity of almost 6 megawatts – which will be used for city emergencies and also for generation capacity standby for Missouri River Energy Services.
Highway 75 utility work
Also at their Feb. 8 meeting, the council awarded the bid to Hulstein Excavating, Edgerton, for the 2022 sewer lining and utility improvements project
The work is related to the scheduled 2025 Minnesota Department of Transportation mill off and overlay of North Highway 75 from Main Street to the north city limits.
Since North 75 in Luverne will be asphalted in 2025, the city water and sewer staff along with the city engineer have looked at infrastructure in the right-of-way along North Highway 75.
There are a number of sewer lines and manholes, along with water service lines and affiliated structures, that need to be replaced so that the newly asphalted road will not have to be dug up for utility repairs in the near future.
Hulstein Excavating submitted the low bid for the project. The base bid was $537,144, with three alternates (related to televising, cleaning, lining and bypass pumping) of $17,151, $12,642 and $12,609.
The council approved the base bid and all three alternates.
The city will use federal funding from the American Rescue Plan to pay for the project.