In Deephaven, the City's Paving Is Nearly Done. The Utilities Keep Their Own Calendars.

In the last week of October, the city's project page for the 2026 Street Improvement Project asked drivers to watch for tack oil on the road surface. It also asked them to stay off fresh asphalt until the crew had a chance to roll it. It was the last paving season on a project that began on June 8 and covered about five miles of Deephaven roads in four phases.

A heading further down the same page matters more this winter. It reads "Private Utility Projects Around Deephaven (Not City Projects)." CenterPoint Energy, Midco, Xcel Energy and the Metropolitan Council each ran their own work this year, with their own contractors and their own schedules. As the city's crews finish up, the open items on any given street belong to whichever organization dug there. So the useful question for the rest of 2026 is who owns the work outside your house.

The city's share is closing out

The street project used full-depth reclamation. The old pavement and base were ground up in place to form a stronger subgrade, and a new surface went on top. Drainage was improved in spots, and some blocks got new curb and gutter. Astech is the contractor, and Stantec staff are managing construction for the city.

Here is where the four phases stood in the city's latest update:

• Phase 1 rebuilt the streets around Thorpe Park, replaced storm sewer pipes there and repaved the Thorpe Park parking lot. It is marked complete.
• Phase 2 included the Montgomerie Avenue stormwater work at Calvary Lutheran Church. It is functionally complete and in punch-list work.
• Phase 3 was the last to finish. The October 23 update scheduled its final lift of asphalt for the week of October 26, with sod or hydroseed on disturbed areas to follow.
• Phase 4 covered Minnetonka Boulevard. West of Cottagewood Road the road was fully reclaimed, and east of it the road got a mill and overlay. New striping went down once construction finished. This phase is marked complete.

"Functionally complete" leaves room for a punch list, and the October 23 weekly update spells out the part residents can act on. If the construction damaged your irrigation or pet containment fence, contact construction manager Nick Olson at 952-262-6163 so the repair gets onto the restoration list. The city's project overview also says the contractor is responsible for repairing irrigation systems and restoring yards the work disturbed. That promise covers the city's project. A gas trench or a fiber bore is another organization's job.

Six projects, five owners

This table sorts the season by who is responsible for each project. Status reflects each project's most recent published update. The timing for Phase 3 and for the gas restoration comes from the October 23 update.

On Cottagewood Road, ownership gets layered. CenterPoint replaced the gas main there and repaved, according to the October 23 update. The Metropolitan Council's restoration plan for lift station L48 separately lists turf on Cottagewood Road and on parts of Ridgewood Road and Vine Hill Road. A lawn edge on Cottagewood Road could fall under either organization, so start with the one whose crew worked in front of that house.

The finished project you can't see from the road

The Montgomerie Avenue basin is the one piece of this season's work that won't look like a road project once the grass fills in. Before it was built, runoff from about 5.6 acres of streets and yards gathered in a low spot along Montgomerie Avenue. It then crossed several private properties and entered the storm sewer before draining into Lake Louise. In a partnership with Calvary Lutheran Church, the eastern part of the church's lower parking lot was removed and the remaining parking was shifted north. That made room for an infiltration basin and a drainage swale.

The design numbers are specific. The basin is built to capture and infiltrate storms of up to one inch, which the city says covers about 90% of local rainfall events. It is expected to cut phosphorus loading by nearly six pounds a year and remove more than 1,000 pounds of suspended sediment before that water reaches Lake Louise and Robinson's Bay. The Minnehaha Creek Watershed District lists its own share of the cost at $125,000. Its project page says construction of the basin was completed in fall 2026. Grants from the Minnesota DNR and the Board of Water and Soil Resources also helped carry the project from design to construction.

Fiber depends on your address

Midco's buildout shows most clearly why the end of city paving doesn't mean the end of the work on your street. The city's description says Midco planned to build in multiple phases, mostly by directional drilling, with spot excavation for network connections. The goal is fiber service available to every Deephaven resident by the end of 2026. That leaves about seven weeks from the day this post publishes.

A finished line on your street doesn't necessarily mean you can order service yet. Midco's Deephaven page tracks construction as "Construction Complete, Awaiting Activation" separately from "Construction Complete, Services Available." The page also offers an address check, preregistration for addresses that aren't ready yet, sign-ups for construction updates and an interactive construction map. Once service is available, connecting is still up to the homeowner. The city's description says the project installs the main fiber infrastructure only, and homeowners who want service have to contact Midco directly to arrange the connection to their house. The City Council took up the Midco 2026 Fiber Project at its November 2 workshop.

So two houses on the same newly paved block can be at different stages. One may already have service, one may be waiting on activation, and one may still have a connection to schedule. That depends on Midco's schedule and the owner's own request, not on the city's paving.

2027 work starts this fall

Xcel Energy is replacing an overhead power line that runs from Shorewood through part of Deephaven. The city's project page says tree clearing and preparation take place in fall 2026, and the poles and lines get replaced in 2027. If you see a crew taking down trees near a power line this month, it's probably early work for next year's rebuild, not cleanup from this year's projects. Questions about it go to Xcel's Kati Chapman at 651-983-5934.

The street project is also only the first installment. The city describes the 2026 work as the first phase of a larger Capital Improvement Plan to repair at least nine miles of roadway in poor or failing condition. This year's five miles covered about half of that.

A short list before the ground freezes

1. Report damage to irrigation or pet fencing from the street project to Nick Olson at 952-262-6163 so it's on the restoration list.
2. Check your address on Midco's page before assuming fiber is or isn't available, and arrange the home connection directly with Midco if you want service.
3. Send gas-related questions to CenterPoint. The city points residents to CenterPoint's Natural Gas Line Upgrades in Deephaven page.
4. Bring lift station turf questions to the Metropolitan Council through its L48 project page or [email protected].
5. Sign up for the city's project update emails from the street project page. They'll be the first place to hear about the next round of road work.

New pavement, a new stormwater basin and fiber at the curb all become part of what a Deephaven home offers, along with questions a buyer will ask down the road. If you'd like to know how this year's work affects your own property's story, The Weinstock Group is glad to go over it with you. Schedule a complimentary consultation.