Mill to Change Loading Dock, Move Trucks off Water Street

After this spring, drivers on North Water Street will no longer encounter semi trucks blocking the road as they make deliveries and pick ups at the

The mill submitted plans to the city to change the angle of its loading dock, which faces east and forces parked, full-sized truck trailers to occupy one lane of North Water Street while loading and unloading. As a result, cars headed south on Water Street occassionally have to make a blind turn into oncoming traffic to get around the trucks.

Red Michel, manager of Star of the West, said the mill is hopeful to finish the work possibly by the end of the first quarter of this year.

"Our goal was to turn the dock as much as we could to the north," he said.

The new angle will keep trucks off North Water Street while at the dock, but they may occupy part of the sidewalk.

The mill's plans are under review by city building officials. The work is expected to take a few weeks and could interrupt traffic during construction.

Michel said mill employees are always safety conscious and consider traffic when unloading and loading trucks, but they recognized that taking up a lane is a concern and decided to make the change.

"It should make things a lot better," Michel said. "It will be a lot safer."