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Rochester Local

The Most Important Work – Infrastructure! | ♡ The Heart of the City for Rochester Families

This post is sponsored by Destination Medical Center

Last week, we launched a fun summer series called ♡ The Heart of the City for Rochester Families ♡. You might have made your way downtown to see the Heart of the City construction work and fill out the scavenger hunt. Turn in your completed hunt at the construction office station and pick up a construction hat. (If you turn it in, you’ll be entered into the weekly drawing for a MOKA gift card!)

Scavenger hunt construction station outside the construction office.

If you went downtown recently, then you might be wondering, “Why is there so much digging. What’s with all the holes in the ground?”

That’s Infrastructure!

The work you are seeing now is called the infrastructure. It’s easy to think that construction and infrastructure work are the same thing…but they are different! The infrastructure is the very base or foundation of a project. It’s what the entire completed building, road, sidewalk, or completed project will sit on top of once it is finished. Construction is the process of building the things we just mentioned: buildings, roads, sidewalks, houses and more. Examples of infrastructure work include sewers, electrical grids, telecommunications, water supply, tunnels, and even bridges. Without the very important work of infrastructure, the finished project wouldn’t work the way it should.  Water from a storm could ruin it, and it could even fall into the ground!

We like to call projects with infrastructure improvements, like the Heart of the City, “Century Projects.” The work below ground will help Rochester grow for the next 100 years. Without it, the city we love would not be able to grow.

The Peace Fountain

What infrastructure work is being done for the Heart of the City infrastructure right now? So many great things!  This past week, the construction team poured the lid on top of the concrete box that will hold all the equipment to make the Peace Fountain run. This upcoming week, the box will be waterproofed so that a temporary sidewalk can be poured. This will give us another way to move around downtown while the construction is happening!

Work on the Peace Plaza

Sewer Work

What else is being done? Sewer work! When you think about the sewer, you might not think very pleasant thoughts. This very important work ensures that the downtown is clean, safe, and most importantly works properly for all the patients and visitors that make their way to downtown Rochester, MN every day. Sanitary sewer work is being done to ensure that the Heart of the City project will be set for many, many years to come. Most of the sewer work that you are seeing now is being connected to all new sewer piping near Broadway Avenue. When this is done, it will be a huge milestone in the infrastructure project.  Stormwater sewer work is also being done. New pipes being placed in the infrastructure will direct all the sewer water from The Heart of the City, Gonda, and the Kahler Hotel to the new sewer piping near Broadway Avenue as well.

Getting ready to lay the sewer pipes

Excavator used for infrastructure work

Rock Trencher

Rock Trencher getting ready to dig trenches for new sewer pipes!

Earlier this spring, in preparation for laying sewer pipes, the construction team brought in a Rock Trencher. This impressive piece of equipment is able to dig through rock, pavement, asphalt, concrete, and more.  It is used to dig trenches for laying pipes just like the sewer work that is happening right now.

While the Rock Trencher’s job is done, we do have some great video of this awesome piece of equipment doing it’s work.  Check it out!

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