Frequently Asked Questions

• Turf Restoration is ongoing and will take place after any general pavement and concrete repairs are completed. Final turf seeding and touch ups will take place in Spring 2024. 
• Remaining irrigation repair items will be adjusted and repaired In Spring 2024.
• Not all current Boulevard conditions are finalized yet. Boulevard cleanup and imported topsoil with seeding will continue in Spring 2024.
• Landscape restoration repair will take place in Spring 2024.

Residents will not be required to connect to the municipal water supply. Residents who do plan on connecting will be charged a one-time fee for the connection. Currently, this connection fee is $10,500 but can change annually. Also, the resident will be responsible for the cost to run a service line from the property line into their homes. To connect to city water, follow these steps. 

The speed limit on Birch Bluff Road will remain the same as it is today, 25 MPH.

The proposed speed limit for the curve at Grant Lorenz and Birch Bluff Road will be designed and posted with advisory signs to be 15 MPH, which will allow for appropriate Stopping Sight Distances around the curve.

No additional traffic calming measures are planned to be installed outside of the posted speed limit and advisory signs. A roadway design that allows for on street parking should produce lower speeds than a street without on street parking.

Parking is being proposed on the south side of Birch Bluff Road only. Currently, there is no plan to move mailboxes to the No Parking side of Birch Bluff Road but can be reviewed and coordinated with the local Postmaster.

All construction traffic will be required to utilize City of Shorewood streets such as Eureka Road, Grant Lorenz Road, and Smithtown Road.

Options have been scoped to satisfy the city's Master Trail plan to connect residents along Eureka Road, Birch Bluff Road, and surrounding neighborhoods to Crescent Beach and the Lake Minnetonka Regional Trail. Options considered are an 8-foot wide bituminous trail and a 6-foot wide concrete sidewalk at the back of the curb. This would extend from the intersection of Eureka Road and Birch Bluff Road east to the Tonka Bay city limits where it will turn north and terminate at Crescent Beach. Engineering will not recommend the sidewalk/trail be included.

The only future pedestrian facilities planned for this area are to be installed with the Eureka Road Improvements project in 2027. If a sidewalk or trail is not constructed with the Birch Bluff Road project, it is unlikely that a sidewalk or trail would be included in the Eureka Road project.

Curb and gutter is proposed to be installed as part of the city's standard typical section for Birch Bluff Road. Water will generally flow as it currently does, and new stormwater treatment ponds will be constructed in the low areas to control the rate of flow and to treat the stormwater runoff that will meet the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District's standards.

The project can address individual drainage concerns for residents along the corridor. Please contact the city engineer t 952-960-7910 to discuss your individual drainage concerns.

The only work that is proposed to be done to the Fire Lanes is to replace or add drainage facilities to allow the stormwater to discharge to Lake Minnetonka.

In 2019 Birch Bluff Road was milled and overlaid because its pavement condition was in very poor condition with the understanding that it would be reconstructed in the next several years. The reconstruction of Birch Bluff Road also allows the City to address any drainage concerns and install water main to serve the residents and provide fire protection to homes along the corridor.

The overhead utilities could be relocated underground as part of the project. However, the city views these improvements as a cost that should be assessed to the benefitting properties. Typically, this cost is about $10,000 per parcel and the city would require all residents to agree to those assessments ahead of time. To eliminate all utility poles at the street, residents would also need to have their current service lines to their homes buried. This adds additional expense to each property owner and a ground-mounted transformer would be required in nearly every front yard.

Fire hydrants will be placed no more than 400 feet from one another to allow for fire protection. In general fire hydrants will be placed near property lines.

No additional traffic calming measures are planned to be installed outside of the posted speed limit and advisory signs. A roadway design that allows for on-street parking should produce lower speeds than a street without on-street parking.

After the curb and gutter for the street is placed, the contractor will prepare the base for driveway restoration. Most driveways are constructed out of 6 inches of aggregate base material and 3 inches of pavement. If something thicker or different existed prior to the project, it will be replaced in kind. If damage was done to the driveway beyond the construction limits, it will be repaired by the contractor at the time of the rest of your driveway. Please contact the project inspector, Tom Vidmar, to assess the damage and necessary repairs.

The contractor was directed to salvage existing mailboxes. Often they are then kept by the property owner during construction. When the time comes for reinstalling the mailboxes, construction staff will coordinate with residents and the postmaster on the locations and groupings as all mailboxes will be placed on the west side of the roadway due to the new sidewalk.