Businesses bump along amid Mantorville road construction

May 9—MANTORVILLE, Minn. — Gone are the benches where people might sit and enjoy the small town ambiance. Gone is the little free library.

In their place is dust, a dug up road, and three more months of mess.

"I think last week we had two people who came in, both of which are familiar with us and locals," said Cheryl Anderson, treasurer at the Mantorville Art Guild , a nonprofit art shop and studio located at 521 N. Main St. in Mantorville. "Most of our (customers are) people who come to shop the antique shops or eat at Hubbell House. They come into our shops to look around."

Main Street in Mantorville, otherwise known as Minnesota Highway 57, has been torn up from the north end of the South Branch Middle Fork Zumbro River bridge to Ninth Street as part of a Minnesota Department of Transportation and city of Mantorville project designed to reconstruct the roadway base, construct a new driving surface, replace stormwater pipes and upgrade pedestrian and bike facilities.

Between the torn-up Main Street, earth-moving equipment, and construction dust and noise, foot traffic and wandering from shop-to-shop is negligible, Anderson said.

"We knew it would be bad," Anderson said. "I didn't think it would be this bad. We'll have to wait and see how the summer plays out."

So far, it's been a learning progress for businesses in dealing with the construction out their front doors. The Mantorville Art Guild has had to put in a small parking lot in the alley behind the shop since street parking is gone. Gone also are the benches and the free library.

Alaina Pappas-Mitchell, manager at The Hubbell House (502 N. Main St., Mantorville) across the street said so far the restaurant hasn't suffered from the construction.

"But we also had a play in town the last three weekends," she added. "So people already had plans to go to that. But we're only three weeks into it, so we don't know what the summer will bring."

Pappas-Mitchell said one of the main strategies for the restaurant is communicating with customers. The restaurant's website has construction updates, and people who have signed up for email updates get the latest construction news. If someone calls to make a reservation a few weeks down the road, she said, they are advised to call day-of so they can get the most up-to-date route to the restaurant.

And when people have called to make those reservations, she said, so far no one has said they won't come due to the construction.

"The biggest thing that we're telling people is it's a little confusing with the 'Road Closed' sign," Pappas-Mitchell said. "You can go around that sign, and so far you don't have to take the full detour (from the north of town) at the moment."

Pappas-Mitchell said summer is typically a slower time of year at The Hubbell House, so the construction is happening at the right time for their business. And, when the road project is complete, the city will have better streets and sidewalks just in time for her busy season.

And those upgrades, she said, are needed.

The city has long had uneven sidewalks that have limited accessibility for people with mobility issues.

Anderson pointed out a piece of curb next to the sidewalk in front of the Art Guild, showing how uneven the two pieces were. "People trip over that," she said.

Mike Dougherty, spokesman for MnDOT District 6, said the community has been involved and supportive of the project. At a pre-construction meeting this spring, 75 people showed up to hear about the project, get final updates before construction and get acquainted with construction personnel.

Since then, MnDOT and Elcor, the contractor, have held 2 p.m. Wednesday meetings at County Seat Coffeehouse each week since construction began three weeks ago, giving businesses an opportunity to voice concerns or just hear updates fresh from the source.

Rather than just repaving the road, the project includes sewer and water infrastructure that will update the city's systems for years to come. And the sidewalks will be brought up to the Americans with Disabilities Act code, including curb ramps and sidewalk grades.

The sidewalks and bike routes in town, Dougherty said, were always going to be a big part of the project.

"At the end of the day, we will make it much more usable for all of the users, not just some of the users," he said.

In the meantime, Mantorville will march on through the summer. On May 18, the city will celebrate its Spring Fling with its garden tractor show and parade. Stagecoach Days will be held June 22-23. And, hopefully, construction will be complete well in advance of the citywide celebration Marigold Days on Sept. 7-8.

That will be great for Lynnette Nash, owner of the Chocolate Shoppe (420 N. Main St., Mantorville). While business isn't down much since the start of construction, Nash said — her shop is just south of the main construction barrier along Main Street, but still past the "Road Closed" sign — the shop is usually doing a more brisk business selling ice cream by now.

"We're only a couple of weeks into it. I honestly thought it'd be horrendous," Nash said. "I'm hoping the people just will be determined to get to us."

Nash said she attends those Wednesday meetings with the MnDOT contractor to keep up to date.

Her big concerns are making sure the bridge isn't cut off and that parking doesn't become even more limited.

In the meantime, the businesses along with the city's economic development agency are working on getting better wayfinding signage up for individual businesses.

"We are accessible, but it's just a little more creative than usual," Nash said. "I'll just be grateful when it's done. My sidewalk was such a mess, and I won't have ice dams in the winter anymore. We're also getting new light poles we can hang banners on.

"We just have to be patient," she said.

Anderson agreed. She said the Art Guild still has camps for kids and events planned through the summer, but making it to Aug. 9 — MnDOT's estimated completion date — will be a hard slog.

"You have to keep saying the mantra: 'It'll be wonderful when it's done. It'll be wonderful when it's done,'" Anderson said. "And, yes, as long as it's done before Marigold Days."