Chaska council accepts feasibility study for 2026 downtown reconstruction, outlines options and assessments

The City of Chaska council on March 30 accepted a feasibility study to guide a 2026 downtown street and utility reconstruction covering Elm Street (4th to 3rd Street) and a section of 3rd Street to Hickory. Staff presented construction and utility-replacement options and committed to neighbor outreach before any assessment hearing.

The study, presented to the council by staff and project presenter Alex, lays out four options ranging from a base street-and-utility rebuild to larger alternatives that would remove the 3rd Street bridge and fill the adjacent drainage channel. Staff said the base option that includes removing and replacing the 3rd Street bridge and rebuilding streets and utilities is estimated at about $2,045,000. A fuller option that would pipe and fill the drainage channel would add roughly $688,000, and would require permanent easements…