Minneapolis - Armatage Neighborhood 2023 Project Updates

CenterPoint Energy’s authorized contractors Michels Corporation and Q3 Contracting have been working in the Armatage Neighborhood to upgrade CenterPoint Energy’s natural gas infrastructure and restore the areas affected by this work.

Crews have installed the natural gas steel main on 58th Street W. from Xerxes Avenue S. to Upton Avenue S. and on Upton Avenue S. from 58th Street W. to 5712 Upton Avenue S. Into late August or early September, the Michels crews anticipates installing the rest of the footage of the steel main on Upton Avenue S. from 5712 Upton Avenue S. to 55th Street W.

This week, 58th Street W. is being prepared for restoration to happen in mid-July from Washburn Avenue S. to Upton Avenue S. Into late August or early September, the crew anticipates that 58th Street W. will remain closed from Xerxes Avenue S. to Washburn Avenue S. In August, they will have connected the new main to the existing intersecting main. In September, they plan to restore the road back to traffic.

CenterPoint Energy’s project should be complete in September. By then, Q3 Contracting and the City of Minneapolis will have paved the affected roads and reopened them back to traffic. If Michels has disturbed anything further, Q3 Contracting will restore it.

This week, a crew from Michels Corporation, a CenterPoint Energy authorized contractor, is removing the existing natural gas main and installing the new gas main on 58th Street W., working east from Xerxes Avenue S. to Upton Avenue S. In the week of Monday, July 8 or Monday, July 15, a crew from Q3 Contracting, a CenterPoint Energy authorized contractor, anticipates restoring 58th Street W. and opening it back to traffic from Washburn Avenue S. to Upton Avenue S.

From Xerxes Avenue S. to Washburn Avenue S., 58th Street W. will remain closed until late summer or fall 2024, when the crew anticipates installing all the footage of the natural gas steel main within this project’s limits. (Another closure will occur on 55th Street W. for about 100 feet from Upton Avenue S. to Upton Avenue S. closer to the project’s completion.) The closure will remain until the crew connects the new steel main to the existing intersecting mains. We appreciate your patience!

Later this week, Michels Corporation anticipates beginning their steel gas main installation on Upton Avenue S., working north from 58th Street W. to 57th Street W. The crew will determine approximately how long they anticipate closing Upton Avenue S. in this area.

This spring, a CenterPoint authorized contractor, Michels Corporation, replaced some of CenterPoint’s natural gas lines in the Armatage Neighborhood along Upton Avenue S. from 55th to 58th Streets W., 58th Street W. from Upton to Xerxes Avenues S., and 54th Street W. just east of Upton Avenue S. This work was for Project 2 of 3.

From mid-June into fall 2024, the crews will replace a large-diameter steel main and restore the affected areas on the same streets. The crew will start on 58th Street W., heading east from Xerxes Avenue S. to Upton Avenue S. for approximately three weeks. Then they will work on Upton Avenue S., heading north from 58th Street W. to 55th Street W. for a few months.

Typical impacts during steel main replacement may include noise, dust, and vibrations. The crew anticipates that most if not all their work should take place in the road and not on sidewalks or boulevards. Except for a few homes, which the crews will coordinate with, there will not be any gas interruptions during the steel main replacement.

Correction: We wanted to provide a correction to information provided in our previous update. Although we stated that natural gas work was completed for Project 2 of 3, we should have clarified that some crews were finished with their work in the area. Another crew will begin their work this month and will work into fall. We apologize for any confusion this caused, and we thank you for your understanding.

Crews from Michels Corporation, an authorized CenterPoint Energy contractor, have been and will continue to move inside meters outside by appointment and replace and/or reconnect service lines to the newly installed gas mains. Moving inside meters outside allows for easier maintenance and shutoff in the unlikely event of an emergency.

In mid-May, they plan to finish all the natural gas work for this project. Currently, the crews are working on all the project’s streets. As the crews are working on each block, they post “no parking” signs on that block and close one sidewalk at a time, leaving the other open. Although they typically work on one block for about one week, they accommodate residents’ schedules and work throughout the project area.

Q3 Contracting, an authorized CenterPoint Energy contractor, follows to restore the areas affected by Michels Corporation’s work, typically a few weeks after the natural gas work is done. Residents should see temporary backfill such as gravel or dirt on excavations. Hard surfaces such as sidewalks will be restored to their original condition. Soft surfaces such as boulevards and lawns will receive black dirt, grass seed, and netting that degrades over about four months.

If any utility flags are in your yard, we ask that they remain there until after the restoration is done. We appreciate your patience as we’re upgrading our infrastructure. We wish you a great season!

Correction: Michels Corporation plans to finish their natural gas work for Project 3 by mid-May. This includes moving inside meters outside by appointment and replacing some service lines as needed. With a similar timeframe for Project 2, Q3 Contracting will follow a few weeks after to restore the areas affected by the gas work.

CenterPoint Energy’s authorized contractors are working on Projects 1 and 2 of 3 in the Armatage Neighborhood.

Project 1: Crews from Q3 Contracting are restoring the areas affected by natural gas work in fall and winter of 2023. Permanent restoration will include the original condition (concrete or asphalt) of the hard surfaces affected, and it will include black dirt, grass seed, and biodegradable netting on boulevards and lawns. The netting degrades over about four months.

This April and May, the crews have been and will continue to work in Minneapolis and other cities in CenterPoint Energy’s service territory in Minnesota to restore the areas affected by natural gas work of fall and winter 2023. We thank you for your patience!

Project 2: Crews from Michels Corporation are replacing the small-diameter natural gas plastic main and are beginning to move inside meters outside by appointment and replace and/or reconnect natural gas service lines to this new main.

The plastic main replacement will continue into the week of April 29. The crew put new main under the east sidewalk of Upton Avenue S. between 55th Street W. and 58th Street W. and the south sidewalk of 58th Street W. between Xerxes Avenue S. and Upton Avenue S. They’ll put new main under the south sidewalk of 54th Street W. from Upton Avenue S. to 2619 54th Street W.

The service line and meter crew are following the main crew’s route and anticipate working into late May.

Q3 Contracting will follow Michels Corporation’s work. Typically, restoration begins a few weeks after the natural gas service line and meter work is finished. We appreciate your patience!

This week is the first week of CenterPoint Energy’s natural gas line replacement project, which is the second of three projects CenterPoint will do in the Armatage Neighborhood this year.

On Thursday, April 11, a crew from Michels Corporation, CenterPoint Energy’s authorized contractor, will begin replacing the natural gas plastic main, which is a small-diameter pipe that will be bored underneath the odd-numbered sidewalk on Upton Avenue S.

Into next week, the crew plans to bore the main between 55th and 57th Streets W. Residents may see sidewalk panels removed, usually one in front of each house. Parking will be closed on both sides of Upton Avenue S. in this area. The east sidewalk will be closed, while the west will remain open. Vehicular traffic can still travel here.

Into the last week of April, the crew plans to install natural gas plastic main under the south sidewalk of 58th Street W. between Xerxes and Upton Avenues S.; the east sidewalk of Upton Avenue S. from 57th to 58th Streets W. and from 54th Street W. halfway to Robbins Street; and the south sidewalk of 54th Street W. from Upton Avenue S. to 2619 54th Street W.

Parking and sidewalk closures will happen on these streets as they happened on Upton Avenue S. The exception will include road closures to through traffic on 58th Street W. between Xerxes and Washburn Avenues S. and on 58th Street W. from Upton Avenue S. to the alley between Upton Avenue S. and Thomas Circle. The timing of these closures will be determined.

If the crews work on some Saturdays in April, the construction hours will be determined.

To finish the work that began in 2023 (Project 1), crews will return in spring or early summer 2024 to permanently restore the areas that received winter restoration. When permanent soft surface restoration happens in 2024, here is what to expect: On boulevards and lawns, they will refill the areas with black dirt, grass seed, and netting made of wood fiber that degrades over about four months. Prior to mowing the restored area, remove any loose staples that secured the netting.

For a few months in the 2024 construction season (Project 2), CenterPoint Energy’s authorized contractors will work on Upton Avenue S. from 55th to 58th Streets W. and on 58th Street W. from Upton to Xerxes Avenues S. to replace natural gas mains, replace or reconnect service lines to the new main, move inside meters outside, and restore the affected areas.

Five types of work will happen. The first is replacing the small-diameter plastic main underneath sidewalks. The second is replacing and/or reconnecting service lines to this new main. The third is moving inside meters outside by appointment. The fourth is replacing a large-diameter steel main through trenching the road. The fifth is restoring the areas affected by the gas work.

CenterPoint Energy’s authorized contractors are finishing the 2023 portion of the project. While Michels Corporation will finish replacing the last of the project’s natural gas lines this week, Q3 Contracting is following to put down winter erosion control and restoration materials.

Winter restoration includes straw mats or hydroseed on boulevards and lawns, and asphalt on previously concrete areas. In spring 2024, the crews will return for permanent restoration. Q3 Contracting anticipates finishing their winter restoration efforts in one or a few weeks.

We appreciate your patience tremendously as we are upgrading our natural gas infrastructure.

For several months this 2023 construction season, CenterPoint Energy’s authorized contractors will work on select streets throughout the Armatage Neighborhood in Minneapolis. The project’s area is between 54th and 58th Streets W. and between Xerxes and Penn Avenues S.

Equix Integrity will update our records on the locations of sewer lines in relation to natural gas lines. A natural gas contractor will move inside meters to the outside of homes and replace natural gas service lines as needed. Q3 Contracting will restore the areas affected by the gas contractor’s work. There will be no assessment or cost associated with our work.