The end of Aquafest heralds the beginning of tearing up even more Rice Lake streets.

Work on Main Street begins in earnest Monday, June 21 said Scot Balsavich of Cooper Engineering.

Related utility work on Knapp Street between Main Street and Wilson Avenue has been under way this week, with detours for eastbound travelers common.

Reconstruction of Main Street from the south city limits to Knapp Street and from Knapp Street west to Kwik Trip will be done under a $2.5 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant.

Trierweiler Construction, the primary contractor on the Main Street project along with the state Department of Transportation will hold an informational meeting for businesses affected by the Main Street and Knapp Street construction project. The meeting will be at City Hall on Monday at 6 p.m. The meeting is to answer questions related to the construction project regarding access to businesses and parking and the schedule for the project.

Other ARRA money will be used for work on Pioneer and Haugen avenues.

Preparatory work on Pioneer Avenue from Hwy. O to Coleman Street began earlier this week, with barricades there expected later in the week. Traffic will be detoured during construction on Pioneer Avenue to College Drive, said Balsavich.

Work on Haugen Avenue will be from Hammond Avenue to Lindy Street. That work will begin after the Barron County Fair, which runs July 14-18. Traffic will be detoured to Hwy. 48 during work on Haugen Avenue, which is also Hwy. SS.

Work on Pioneer Avenue will cost about $700,000, and work on Haugen Avenue will cost about $300,000.

Balsavich said the overall plan on Main Street is to do it all at one time, with the outside lanes of the four- lane street closed to traffic.

Balsavich said traffic on Knapp Street will be detoured to Tainter Avenue to Marshall Street. He said the contractor has 80 calendar days to complete the job, with that time limit starting on Monday.

Trierweiler will do the work on Main Street, and Monarch Paving will do the work on Pioneer and Haugen avenues.

Balsavich said the city expects to post a weekly update on the city's website.

He said Bob Nelson will be the contact for Cooper Engineering, and that state Department of Transportation and contractor field offices will be set up at the old UBC location on the east side of Main Street south of the Red Cedar River. Story provided by The Chronotype - www.ricelakeonline.com