The next phase of a major storm sewer replacement project in southwest Minot will impact traffic beginning Monday, according to the City of Minot.

Phase 3 of the Puppy Dog Coulee project will install box culverts under 22nd Avenue Southwest, just north of McDonald’s near Dakota Square. A section of the avenue will be closed to vehicle traffic during this phase, beginning Monday.

McDonald’s will remain open during construction. Access to the restaurant and other adjacent properties will be available on 24th Avenue Southwest.. Traffic will detour off of 22nd Avenue at 15th Street Southwest.

All other access to the Dakota Square Mall area will remain open at this time, including the intersections of 16th Street/24th Avenue Southwest and 16th Street/26th Avenue Southwest, as well as the intersection of 10th Street/24th Avenue Southwest on the northeast side of the mall, near Best Buy and Wings and Rings.

The city reports Puppy Dog Coulee project will replace nearly 1,600 feet of failing storm sewers with new box culverts to the west, north and east of Dakota Square Mall. The existing metal culverts were installed during the mall’s construction in 1980. The nearly $20 million project has been in discussion and planning since at least 2015.

The project has a substantial completion date of July 31, 2026, with final completion by Oct. 2, 2026. Wagner Construction is the general contractor, with a low bid of $19.68 million, which was 11% below the engineering estimate.

The Puppy Dog Coulee drainage basin includes 9,500 acres, extending for miles southwest of Minot. The culverts convey storm water from west of Minot, under 16th Street Southwest, through the area of the mall, and to the Highway 2 & 52 ditch.