The cones between Ash Street and Locust Street look like a routine utility job. Underneath, though, Xcel Energy is moving a gas main out of the path of a storm sewer and water main that don't exist yet. Those pipes are part of a 2027 rebuild that will make Mahtomedi Avenue narrower on purpose. The detour you're driving this fall is the first visible piece of that plan.
The gas main is moving so the new pipes have room
The City of Mahtomedi says plainly why the gas work comes first. In its notice, Xcel's relocation "is necessary to prepare for the installation of new storm sewer and water main planned for 2027," and the work has to be finished before road construction starts to avoid delays.
Over the past year, the city's engineering firm, WSB, has been working with private utilities to move anything that conflicts with the planned road. That includes Xcel gas, Xcel Energy Electric, and the cable and phone lines hung on the power poles. The poles are the next piece. White Bear Press reported that Xcel Electric's pole moves into the future boulevard were proposed for 2027, alongside road construction, and weren't expected to push back the 2027 completion goal.
Where the gas lines sit decides which lane is closed and when:
- Ash Street to Hickory Street: the gas facilities are on the west side, so the southbound lane closes and only northbound traffic moves.
- Hickory Street to Locust Street: there's gas on both sides. The southbound lane closes first, then the northbound lane closes for the east-side work.
- Hickory Street intersection: the gas line crosses the avenue here, which is why the intersection had a full closure for about a week.
One lane stays open the rest of the time, and driveway access is maintained apart from occasional brief closures.
Where the closure sits right now
The most recent official update on the Mahtomedi Avenue Reconstruction project hub is dated August 20, 2026. It said Xcel would finish at Hickory Street on August 21 and reopen northbound traffic. Southbound would stay closed south of Hickory until approximately mid-October. After that, crews would move north of Hickory, with work expected to run until late November.
Today is October 10, so we're right at that handoff. The mid-October and late-November dates are forecasts from August. The city's notice, last updated August 27, repeats the same plan. I haven't found a newer project update confirming the switch has happened. The hub is the place to check before your morning drive. For gas-specific questions, the city lists Bill Lynaugh at Xcel Energy Gas as the contact.
There are two detours, and which one applies depends on where you're headed:
- Local: Warner Avenue, for people who live along or near the corridor.
- Through traffic and large trucks: TH 96 (Dellwood Road N.), Jamaca Avenue (CSAH 9), and Stillwater Boulevard (CSAH 12). This route is for traffic coming from Dellwood and White Bear Lake, and large trucks are required to use it.
White Bear Press called this fall's work "a preview of what the disruption will bring." In 2027, the whole avenue from downtown Mahtomedi to the Dellwood border will be torn up.
Why the city is building a narrower road
The reason for the rebuild is ownership. Mahtomedi Avenue is still TH244, a state highway. MnDOT advised the city several years ago that it would hand the road over. Once that happens, the TH244 designation goes away and the road will likely be known simply as Mahtomedi Avenue.
According to the project's public-hearing Q&A, MnDOT is turning the road back because it has the characteristics of a local roadway. In exchange, the city gets state funding to bring the surface up to local standards, plus ongoing State Aid funding for the extra mileage. The road stays on the City Municipal State Aid System.
That handoff lets the city design for a local street, and the design team's answer to speeding is mostly about width. The hearing Q&A lists these planned traffic-calming measures:
- Narrower travel lanes
- Removing the super-elevation, the banking on curves, so drivers keep to the posted speed
- Tighter turning radii at intersections, which slow turning cars and improve sight lines for cars pulling out
- No turn lanes or parking lanes, which keeps the corridor narrow and limits how much right-of-way has to be acquired
The Q&A adds periodic speed enforcement as a secondary measure.
Two popular requests didn't make it in. Speed bumps were rejected as a road hazard. Speed humps were judged not viable on a local collector road in a snowy climate, because plows damage equipment on them. New stop signs would have to meet the warrants in the Minnesota traffic control manual.
Crossings get rectangular rapid-flashing beacons instead. New ones are planned at Juniper Street and Hickory Street, adding to the existing beacons at Neptune Street and Ash Street.
The road is still being built to state aid width standards, which account for trucks and buses. There's a tradeoff the project team states openly. When a driver is pulled over, or a garbage truck or mail carrier stops, other cars will be able to get around, but it will be tight and slow.
Sidewalks on some blocks, none on others
Pedestrian safety was the top concern in public comments, according to the project team. Its Q&A notes that Mahtomedi's trails only run along the avenue in short segments. The plan adds sidewalk in pieces, not end to end:
| Segment | West side | East side |
|---|---|---|
| Ash Street to Birch Street | New sidewalk | New sidewalk, part of Ash to Maple |
| Fir Street to Grove Street | New sidewalk | Not listed |
| Hickory Street to Locust Street | New sidewalk | Not listed |
| Neptune Street to Tamarack | Removed by City Council | Optional sidewalk removed |
| Locust Street toward Dellwood | Not listed | Existing trail continues |
The project page also says no dedicated bike lanes or paths are proposed. Bicycle safety came up at the public information meetings, which the project schedule dates to March 6 and July 23, 2025. The two meetings drew 109 stakeholders who signed in. Other concerns raised there included pedestrian crossings and getting to the mailbox, traffic volume and speed, landscaping, signage and street lighting.
Some people asked whether sidewalks on both sides would make the road feel wide open and encourage faster driving. The team's answer was that barrier curb and narrower lanes will discourage speed. Utility poles, hydrants and utility pedestals in the boulevards will also help keep the corridor feeling narrow.
What happens to the trees, and to the runoff
Mahtomedi Avenue has drainage problems today. The rebuild adds curb and gutter and storm sewer that connect to existing storm systems and ditches. It also includes features meant to clean up stormwater before it reaches White Bear Lake and nearby wetlands. Those new pipes are the reason the gas main is moving this fall.
The landscaping will take a hit. The Q&A says most trees, shrubs and landscaping inside the grading footprint will be removed, and not everything removed from the public right-of-way will be replaced. Some grading will reach past the boulevard and sidewalk, and the design team said it would settle how far as design moved forward. Where the corridor needs more room, the team plans to use retaining walls where possible to limit land acquisition. A right-of-way professional will contact owners who are affected.
From a property standpoint, this is the part of the plan that changes front yards along the corridor. If you're thinking about landscaping, a new driveway apron, or a fence near the front of your lot, it may make sense to look at the project hub's layout page before you spend money. That page shows the proposed alignment at about 90% design.
The calendar from here
The full rebuild covers about 1.7 miles, from CSAH 12/Stillwater Road to Tamarack Road at the Dellwood border. The city's earlier notice describes the same stretch as running from the western edge of Veterans Memorial Park to the north city limits at Tamarack. The project schedule lists these remaining milestones:
- November 2026: plans and specifications approved, bids advertised
- February 2027: bids opened
- March 2027: contract awarded
- Spring 2027: construction begins
- Fall 2027: substantial completion
- October 2027: assessment hearing
The sources don't agree on the start date. The hub schedule says spring 2027, and White Bear Press wrote that the project "doesn't officially begin until the summer of 2027." Either way, businesses along the corridor should keep access. The project team says construction will be staged so local traffic can get through.
In the meantime, Veterans Memorial Park at the south end of the corridor hosts Mahtomedi Community Education's annual Veterans Day Ceremony on November 11 from 5 to 8 p.m. If the forecast holds, the gas crews will be working north of Hickory by then.
The cost, as of the last public number
The most recent cost figures I could confirm come from the City Council's October 21, 2025 public hearing. That's where the council approved the project and authorized final plans, bid advertising, and the preliminary proposed assessment roll.
At that hearing, construction was estimated at $13,697,200. That was up from an earlier March estimate of $7.5 million, which matched the $7.5 million the state planned to reimburse through a state aid account. The city's agreement with the state allows an amendment to increase that reimbursement. Street lighting is the exception. The city pays for it entirely, and it was estimated at $1.7 million as of October 2025.
I couldn't confirm whether those numbers have changed since. The November 2026 plan approval is the next scheduled point where updated figures would likely come out.
If you own a home along Mahtomedi Avenue and you're wondering how a narrower road, new sidewalk or lost boulevard trees fit with a project or sale you're planning around 2027, I'd be glad to talk it through. My husband Bjorn is a general contractor, and he can walk your frontage with us and give his view on what's worth doing before the crews arrive and what can wait. Reach out to Jenelle Nelson and let's connect.
