Duluth City Council is constantly struggling with aging infrastructure, including deteriorating roads.

A major road construction project along St. Marie Street and Junction Avenue near the UMD campus is in the crosshairs of city planners.

The project received a one and a half million dollar grant from the state for road expansion.

Alex Popp, project engineer for the city of Duluth, acknowledged the poor condition of the roads. “Anyone who has ever driven on this road knows that it is pretty bumpy. So it is not going to get better on its own.”

Popp said the city conducted geotechnical surveys and found a lot of “bad” soil beneath the paved roads.

“We’re going to try to dig deep, get out all the bad soil and create a facility that will last 15, 20 or even longer, something that will last a long time and continue to perform well,” he said.

City engineers say Tuesday night’s public meeting is an important step in the ongoing planning phase. The city expects to put the project out to bid next spring, with the most extensive construction expected to occur when the UMD is not in meetings next summer.