Capital Improvement Plan | St. Louis Park, MN

The city’s infrastructure includes sidewalks, bikeways, streets, alleys and underground utilities. Infrastructure is directly linked to the economic development and growth of the city. It provides people with connections to basic needs such as emergency response, health care, education, food resources, transportation, safety, job opportunities and more. We all rely on high-quality infrastructure – whether we’re pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders or in personal vehicles.

Proactively planning for the replacement of infrastructure is essential for the city to thrive and grow successfully. As part of the planning process, the city has developed a Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) that describes the capital improvements and expenditures planned in St. Louis Park over the next 10 years. It’s a statement of the city’s policies and financial ability to manage infrastructure investment in the community, and it is reviewed and revised annually.

The engineering department oversees the CIP for construction and maintenance of public infrastructure, including roads, bridges, sanitary sewer, storm sewer, watermain, sidewalks and bikeways.

To plan for the future and coordinate work with other government jurisdictions, the city identifies the years when improvements will be done as well as funding sources.

New, proposed CIPs are presented to the city council as part of the annual budget development process. A final CIP for the following year is then presented to the council and is adopted along with the annual budget in December.

CIP projects map 2024-2028

Below is a map of projects adopted for the coming year and planned for in the next four years.

The first year reflects the adopted projects for the upcoming year. The remaining four years represent a schedule and estimate of future capital projects that may be funded, given projected revenue estimates.

Capital Improvement Plan projects 2024-2028 – map

Several of these projects are highlighted on the construction projects page.

Pavement management program

In 2004, to ensure city streets were being proactively maintained, the city council approved the pavement management program. Levels of maintenance and project type are determined by pavement condition. Each project type takes place in one of eight areas of the city on an eight-year cycle. This cycle helps minimize disruption to residents, while making construction more efficient and cost-effective.

Pavement rehabilitation

Every year, 4 miles of street with an Overall Condition Index (OCI) rating of less than 45 are selected for rehabilitation, which includes full pavement replacement.
- An Overall Condition Index (OCI) methodology is used to evaluate and rate the pavement quality and condition of street segments on a range of 100 (newly surfaced pavement) to zero (failed pavement). When the pavement management program was developed, the St. Louis Park City Council established a goal of maintaining a street network with an average OCI of 70 or more, which is consistent with many other jurisdictions. This goal then drives the capital planning and revenue needs identified in the city’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). The city’s current average OCI is 61.2.

Curb is inspected for damage and proper drainage. Damaged or settled sections are replaced.
Sidewalk, watermain, sanitary sewer and storm sewer are replaced or upgraded if condition warrants it.
About 2 miles of watermain are replaced with this type of project.

Concrete repairs

The year after a pavement rehabilitation project, concrete repairs take place in the same area – but not on the same street segments that underwent pavement rehabilitation.
This includes repairs to concrete curb and gutter, as well as sidewalk, identified through inspection.

Mill and overlay

Two years after a pavement rehabilitation project, mill and overlay work takes place in the same area – but not on the same street segments that underwent pavement rehabilitation.
This includes removing and replacing the top 1.5 inches of pavement, extending the life of the street and delaying the need for full rehabilitation by 15 to 20 years.
Mill and overlay doesn’t include curb and gutter, sidewalk or utilities work.
Street segments selected for mill and overlay have pavement with an OCI rating of 45 to 65 and don’t contain watermain or other public utilities that have been identified for replacement.

Once the city completes each of these three project types in an area, it doesn’t return to the area again for six years. At that time, the eight-year cycle starts again with identification of segments of streets in the area in need of pavement rehabilitation.

How it’s funded

St. Louis Park does not assess individual property owners for the cost of street rehabilitation projects. Instead, franchise fees charged through CenterPoint Energy and Xcel Energy are passed on to the city to fund pavement and sidewalk replacement. While many communities assess adjacent property owners for street rehabilitation projects, St. Louis Park believes in the value of collectively contributing to the city’s infrastructure.

Underground infrastructure

Much of the infrastructure the city is responsible for is underground. Since repair and replacement of underground infrastructure usually requires digging up the street, the most cost-effective time to replace underground utilities is during pavement rehabilitation projects. This is also true for the new construction and replacement of aboveground improvements, such as sidewalks and bikeways. Completing the construction of new infrastructure and the replacement of existing infrastructure at the same time the street is replaced provides greater flexibility in design, reduces the overall inconvenience to the public and allows the city to stretch its construction dollars. As a result, when possible, the city’s infrastructure planning is driven by pavement condition. This allows the city to maximize its investment by not digging up streets until they have reached the end of their useful life. The city uses the following methods to identify what underground utilities are scheduled for replacement in the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP).

Sanitary sewer

Manholes are used to routinely televise and clean underground pipes. When a problem is found with an underground pipe or manhole, it’s scheduled for repair. Urgent repairs that would impact flow are repaired by city public works staff when they are found. Other repairs take place at the same time as a pavement rehabilitation project or as part of a sewer lining project.

Storm sewer

Manholes and catch basins are routinely inspected. When a problem is found with a pipe, catch basin or manhole, it’s scheduled for repair. Urgent repairs that would impact flow are repaired when found. Other repairs are completed at the same time as a pavement rehabilitation project or as a standalone project. Stormwater features, including retention ponds and underground structures that provide stormwater treatment and flood storage, are inspected annually and maintenance is scheduled in the CIP as needed.

Watermain

This pressurized system can’t be accessed from the surface, which prevents routine evaluation of the inside of the pipe. Due to this, industry standard for watermain replacement planning depends on a review of the pipe’s age, pipe material, existing soil types around the watermain and history of breaks on each street segment scheduled for pavement rehabilitation. The city also conducts annual leak detection. Leaks that are detected are repaired when they are found.

How it’s funded

Utility replacement, repair and maintenance are paid for using the city’s sanitary sewer, storm sewer and water utility enterprise funds, which are funded through utility fees paid by property owners.