Prior Lake residents frustrated over construction on Fish Point Road

PRIOR LAKE, Minn. -- Construction season is underway in cities all across the state. Prior Lake is investing more than $11 million in improvements over the next six months, but not everyone is happy about the work.

Darren Dickenson says getting to and from his home off of Fish Point Road in Prior Lake has been a challenge for the last month. 

"Mostly, it's the mud pit in the road," said Dickenson. "The construction has created a situation where people have been getting stuck. Emergency vehicles haven't been able to get through."

The City of Prior Lake says that section of road has needed the work, with the original utilities installed in the early 70s showing their age in recent years. 

"There have been many years where things have not been happening and now we're playing catch-up to a little bit of a degree. So, focusing on getting streets improved and seeing these improvements get done so that they don't have potholes and they don't have sidewalks with cracks," said Prior Lake City Manager Jason Wedel.

As part of the planning process, the city says it has worked with community partners to lessen the impact of the total road reconstruction project. 

"We are working with mail delivery, we're working with the school district for bus stops, we're working with the garbage companies to help with garbage pickup. We do as much as we possibly can to minimize those inconveniences," Wedel said.

But Darren says the short-term pain is just too much. 

"People have to live. People have to come and go and be able to do things. You can't just shut down, for a week, a road chunk and expect that person to not be able to work and so on and so forth," Dickenson said.

The City of Prior Lake says once those improvements are complete, they won't be back for a while.

The construction work is expected to last anywhere from 50 to 75 years.