Lakeville to Begin Massive Street Repair Project in Valley Park Area

The Valley Park neighborhood in Lakeville—one of the town's most aging in terms of infrastructure—will be getting new roads, water mains, sewers and utilities this summer.

Though the improvements will come at a cost: each home will be assessed roughly $4,000 for the upgrades the city says are needed. If added to property tax bills, after interest, the assessment will be roughly . And that's with the city picking up $5.2 million of the $8.1 million total price tag.

The project was officially approved at the 's May 7 meeting, though some construction has already begun. Some of the city's utility providers, including CenterPoint Energy and Dakota Electric are using the project to upgrade their own infrastructure in the neighborhood.

The repairs include a bounded by Gerdine Path (on the west and north from Dodd Boulevard) to Flagstaff Avenue, Florin Avenue to the east and streets in the south such as Frazer Path, Gage Avenue and Franchise Way.

All told, the construction will include storm sewer and street improvements including new curbs, the replacement of aging metal water mains with robust plastic ones, and the replacement the 168th Street bridge over North Creek. The .

More than 80 neighborhood residents packed an open house at Apple Valley's Parkview Elementary School on April 26 to discuss the project and assessments. Many residents were concerned over the price tag, as well as the impacts of navigating their own neighborhood over the five months of construction which is slated to wrap up in October.

And while the council understood cost concerns, Mayor Mark Bellows acknowledged the repairs simply needed to be made.

“We’re dealing with the reality that we are an aging city,” he said.

According to city staff, since 1995, there have been 12 water main ruptures in the neighborhood, mostly along Gerdine Path. Among the 260 miles of roads in Lakeville, the ones in the Valley Park neighborhood are among the oldest and lowest rated, meaning patch jobs simply wont work any more.

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