Downtown St. Paul road closure brings traffic jams

Drivers reported major traffic jams in downtown St. Paul Tuesday morning as a big construction project got underway along Kellogg Boulevard.

The city is rebuilding Jackson Street in the next two years, between Shepard Road and 11th Street. Kellogg Boulevard will be closed up to 18 weeks, officials say.

Plans call for new pavement and utilities — including replacing a 135-year-old water main. That project is starting with replacement of underground electrical vaults at Kellogg Boulevard.

City officials say they expected drivers will accommodate the change quickly, and hope that by the end of the week, traffic will be closer to normal.

"You know typically what happens when we do a closure like this, we try to inform the public," said Paul Saint Martin, an assistant city engineer. "A lot of people don't pay attention. They really want to test it and make sure it's in place. So typically what happens, after a couple days, people figure out a different route to travel."

Also Wednesday, the city and Xcel Energy plan to conduct a "natural gas emergency training exercise." They expect to shut down Wall Street between Kellogg and 4th Street from 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. St. Paul fire, police and other emergency responders will take part.

"While people in the area may hear sirens and see lots of equipment and movement, this is only a training exercise," a statement from Xcel Energy said, adding that the utility "and the City of St. Paul ask that people respect the boundaries of this exercise and not call 911 about it."