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Wabasha Street to reopen with block wall following rock slide

Full construction on the gabion wall on Wabasha Street will likely start the week of June 25, with a completion goal of late September (12 weeks).

St. PAUL, Minn. - A heavily-used St. Paul road will reopen after construction of a 250-foot long rock wall to prevent rock and mud slides.

Full construction on the gabion wall on Wabasha Street will likely start the week of June 25, with a completion goal of late September (12 weeks).

Wabasha Street between Plato and Cesar Chavez was closed at the end of April when a steep slope above the street let go, scattering large debris from a rock formation and mud across the roadway.

The City of St. Paul hired an engineering group to evaluate the bluff and make recommendations for actions to protect public safety and infrastructure. One option was removing sections of the limestone bluff, but the final decision was to build what is called a gabion wall.

A gabion wall is a retaining wall made of stacked rocks contained in wire baskets. The finished gabion wall along the Wabasha bluff is expected to be 12 feet tall and nine feet wide.

“Construction of a gabion wall achieves the City’s objectives of re-opening Wabasha Street quickly, safely and cost effectively,” said Public Works Director Kathy Lantry. “In addition, this less invasive solution protects the public and roadway from natural erosion of the bluff without the risk of further destabilizing the bluff or drastically impacting the private properties adjacent to the roadway.”

Estimated cost of the project is $1.1 million.

While all this work is happening, Jose Frias says he will work harder to get the word out that his restaurant, Boca Chica's Taco House remains open where Wabasha and Cesar Chavez meet.

"We definitely noticed that our lunch hour, definitely had some slow periods that were typically busier," Frias said.

He explains that getting to his restaurant from across the bridge has now become more complicated, presumably deterring lunch-break customers from finding their way around the detours.

"I do plan on seeing if we can get maybe more signage around the detour area just to let people know it's a little easier to get here than maybe they think or thought it would be," Frias said.

His restaurant had been a staple of the community for 54 years. Frias says he hopes customers won't forget that his restaurant is there.


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