New Prague Main Street/Trunk Highway 19 Reconstruction Project

Challenge

Main Street/Trunk Highway 19 through downtown New Prague is lined with historic shops, businesses, churches and homes that in many cases predate the original 1931 concrete road surface. Faced with deteriorating infrastructure and 10,000 vehicles per day traveling this busy corridor, the City needed a solution to meet the needs of both pedestrians and drivers.

Solution

As New Prague’s designated city engineer, SEH provided planning, design and construction administration services to reconstruct 100-year-old underground utilities along the 0.95 mile roadway, including curb and gutter, sidewalks, landscaping and street lighting. Full reconstruction provided the opportunity to modernize and improve pedestrian safety and ADA accessibility throughout the corridor with wider sidewalks, curb bump-outs and flatter slopes. Intersection improvements incorporated two mini roundabouts to improve access and control traffic at major side streets.  

The SEH team facilitated an intensive public involvement process to gather community feedback on design elements and prepare more than 50 downtown businesses for construction. In two years, the construction was phased to tackle a few blocks at a time to ensure that pedestrians could access businesses and neighborhoods adjacent to Main Street.  

Thoughtful design, construction phasing and proactive public outreach resulted in a roadway that not only improved traffic flow but enhanced pedestrian safety throughout New Prague’s downtown corridor.  

Awards

• 2022 ADA Construction Project Award – Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) ADA Program