Dear Answer Man — feel free to embellish this greeting — when will the traffic signals on Second Street Southwest, west of U.S. 52, be fully functional? I saw men out in the cold weather during December working to get them installed, but since then, the lights have simply flashed red. The stop signs they replaced did the same job for a lot less money. It's time to turn those signals on so they can do the job they were intended to do. — Spencer Holter
Spencer, I don't embellish greetings. People do that on their own, to indicate their appreciation for my admittedly beautiful mind. So, if you want to circle back and do that yourself, I'll answer your question.
Just kidding — I'll answer it anyway, just this once.
Mike Easley, the city's construction supervisor for the Second Street project , said the lights will be operational when the wiring thaws out. Those signals at 23rd and 19th avenues were installed and mostly ready to go a few months ago, but the final hookups didn't get done before the glaciers moved in.
"It gets difficult to pull wire when it's frozen," Mike said.
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The lights are flashing to make those intersections four-way stops in the meantime.
There's other finishing work to be done along Second Street when spring comes, Mike said, and there's also a little repair project that needs to be done immediately. A lane closing might already be in place at 19th Avenue Southwest, where a sanitary sewer likely will need to be fixed. Workers might have accidentally drilled through the sewer line while installing the base for a signal light.
The whole project cost about $6.8 million.
Dear Answer Man, do you know what the status is of the Covered Bridge Restaurant in Zumbrota? It was one of our favorite places to eat — good food and you could watch TV or listen to music in the sports bar, or enjoy a nice meal in the quieter restaurant side. I know they had water damage from freezing pipes and closed temporarily because of that. We have been waiting for it to reopen but it appears closed up. -- Hungry in Mazeppa
I called owner Jon Steethis morning and he said, "Call me in three days, and I'll know."
So I will.
Want faster service from the Answer Man? Greet him properly. Send questions to P.O. Box 6118, Rochester, MN 55903 or answerman@postbulletin.com.
