Fifth Avenue South In St. Cloud Set For Major Upgrades

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- Fifth Avenue South in St. Cloud will be getting a complete makeover in the next few years, thanks in part to the Minnesota State Legislature.

The bonding bill passed by the legislature Sunday night includes $3.4 million for the project.

City of St. Cloud

City Administrator Tracy Hodel says it will help to connect St. Cloud State University to the downtown.

A university is such a vital component to any growing community, and we want to do what we can to partner with the university and make sure we're doing what we can to provide those safety enhancements, we're doing extra lighting, we're adding bike lanes.

The 5th Avenue South project will run from Division Street on the north end to past the hockey arena down to Ramsey Place on the south end.

State bonding money is a 50 percent match, so the city will have to come up with $3.4 million, for a total cost of the project of about $6.8 million.

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Hodel says her team will start work immediately on logistics, scheduling, and funding for the project. The goal is to start work as soon as next year.