Community Voices: The Deere, the dust and the owl

Jessica Lamker

The orange and black “Construction to begin April 24” signs are posted at every turn in the neighborhood. It must have been April 23 when I was hopeful those signs would be gone by July 31. But, here we are, and the signs are still here, marking the path of the projects taking place around the ‘hood.

I start to come to life at about the same time the engine to the industrial John Deere backhoe parked in front of my home comes to life on the street. Having grown up on a farm, I’ve always had a warm heart for everything John Deere and tractors in general, so having a picture-window view of the construction equipment outside hasn’t been the worst thing. The back-up warning beeps that sound from the heavy equipment are now a familiar wake-up alarm for all who live within ear-shot of South Park Drive in Summer 2023.

In the 26 years I’ve lived in Savage, I’ve never experienced two summers in a row with intense construction. Last year was our turn for full-depth mill and overlay improvements from the City of Savage. This year, other streets around us are in the mix for that project, while the expansive, CenterPoint Energy steel natural gas main line replacement project along South Park Drive is what generates my view of the gold John Deere industrial backhoe, a couple storage trailers, lots of flashing construction signs, and so on. You can tell the CenterPoint Energy main gas line replacement project is a big deal. As the large steel pipe is being trenched down South Park Drive, we’ve become neighbors, literally, with the equipment and the people who run it all summer long.

Despite not knowing which way to turn on any given day to come and go to the neighborhood, my experiences of these projects are a luxury compared to what my neighbors on South Park are experiencing: driveways and sidewalks being demolished; a trench being dug in front of their houses on the south side of the street; a large steel main pipe being welded together and dropped in the ground, re-covered with soil, followed by the restoration of those sidewalks. The neighbor and I were talking about the project one day, and while I’m losing some early evening sun to the John Deere, her all-day view happens to be the biff. I’ll keep my Deere view.

Anytime there’s this much noise, dust and commotion, it impacts our animal friends, too. The neighbor dogs don’t seem to be huge fans of the construction. And the birds — well there has been a lot of chirping from the cardinals with all the big truck traffic coming and going on the street. On July 12, shortly after the construction workers arrived for work, I saw a large bird swooping through the trees as I was looking out the home office window. About an hour later, landing right on a metal art yard sign near my back door was the swooping bird—a barred owl.

In the 26 years I’ve lived here, I’ve heard the neighborhood owl, but to see the owl in the light of day, perched right on top of a cute, metal yard sign that says “RELAX” — that was an encounter I won’t soon forget. And, quite frankly, it was a message I needed to see from the wise owl as it made a fleeting visit as the construction equipment sprang to life that Friday morning. There will always be some commotion in life; relish the unexpected, and relax.

Jessica Lamker is a 24-year resident of Savage and a Community Voices columnist.

Phase I of a multi-year project began April 10 to upgrade and consolidate two existing natural gas steel mains into one pipeline that currently runs east to west from the Burnsville Mall to western Shakopee.

Contractors plan to work in Savage along South Park Drive from Dakota Avenue to Joppa Avenue South, installing a large-diameter natural gas steel main, while another contractor will be restoring the areas affected by the natural gas work. The work is being done to better serve the growing area.

Source: City of Savage

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