The Minnesota Department of Transportation will temporarily close some Snelling Avenue travel lanes in both directions next week as it removes 34 trees between St. Clair and Grand avenues in St. Paul. The tree removal will run from Monday through Friday, Jan. 12.

The trees are being taken out to make room for road improvements next spring and summer, or because construction impacts to their root system will make it unlikely they’ll survive long-term, or they’re diseased or in poor condition, according to MnDOT. Snelling Avenue is a state highway — Minnesota 51 — in St. Paul.

State officials said they will reseed the area after construction and plant new boulevard trees in 2025.

Work next season will include resurfacing the half-mile of Snelling Avenue between St. Clair and Grand avenues, replacing the signal system at Snelling and St. Clair and building bump-outs and ADA-compliant crossings at all intersections between St. Clair and Grand avenues.

Construction, which is scheduled from spring through next August, also will involve reconfiguring Snelling Avenue between Montreal Avenue and Ford Parkway with a center median, reconstructing the traffic signal at Montreal Avenue and reducing traffic to one lane in each direction in that segment with dedicated left turns at the median breaks at Bohland Avenue and Saunders Avenue.

MnDOT also plans to remove street parking along Snelling between Montreal Avenue and Ford Parkway and add a new 10-foot multi-use trail on the east side of Snelling.

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