St. Paul May Seek Disaster Money For Rock Slide Repairs
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- Disaster money could be needed to fix a busy road covered by a rock slide.
Boulders crashed down from the bluffs and onto Wabasha Street in St. Paul about 10 days ago. Since then, Crews have carefully removed debris.
But the city and county just declared a state of emergency. On Wednesday, we learned what that could mean for drivers and neighbors.
Safety continues to be a priority on Wabasha Street, so there are still barricades that prevent people from getting too close to where those boulders tumbled down the bluff and crashed into the street. It's tedious work that requires a technical eye and safety precautions.
That's why engineering experts from St. Paul's Public Works Department and a consulting firm are using a lift to get close to the bluff.
Lisa Hiebert is the communications director for the St. Paul Public Works Department.
"We had a chunk of the bluff sluff off into the street and right of way. We are working with outside contractors to really take a look an in-depth look, surveys and assessments of the bluff to find out what we are dealing with," Hiebert said.
A few days after the April 28 rock slide, St. Paul's mayor declared a state of emergency. Tuesday, the Ramsey County Board of the Commissioners did too.
"Declaring a local state of emergency allows the city to access additional funding should we need it for any kind of cleanup or remediation efforts," she said.
At the top of the bluff are houses. Some are right on the edge. Some of those homeowners told us there have been other rock slides here, but not nearly as severe.
One shared photos with us from 2017 that show a fence that appears to be a temporary repair. But weeks later that same area was damaged again after a rock slide.
"We live on a river so the natural bluffs, the natural process with bluffs, this happens. We want to take a closer look at what we are dealing with, making sure we are taking those next steps to ensure private property, public property and safety," Hiebert said.
There is no date set for re-opening Wabasha Street at this location. It's closed until further notice, and the city is still asking the public to stay away from the area.
Nobody was hurt in the rockslide. There also weren't any reports of damage to private property.
