A $3.1 million project that would transform the roads around Alice Smith took another step forward last week.

The City Council on Tuesday unanimously authorized Hopkins staff to seek bids for a project that would lead to major changes around the elementary school—including a realignment of Minnetonka Mills Road so that it dead-ends at Ninth Avenue. There would also be work on Gethsemane Road and several roads south of Minnetonka Mills.

(For full details, click on the PDFs to the right of the article.)

Planners say that work will make the area around the school safer, but several neighbors say the city shouldn’t embark on a major project while so many still labor under a tough economy.

In all, assessments from property owners would pay for about $1.1 million of the project’s costs.

The plan that advanced Tuesday had few changes from the one presented to property owners at a Jan. 17 public hearing. Changes included reworking an entrance to the elementary school slightly in order to save a tree and adding two more stamped crosswalks.

Bids are scheduled to go out April 11. Planners will present bids to the council April 17, and the council should order an assessment hearing that same night. The assessment hearing will take place May 15. If council members like the project, they’ll award a bid that night.

Construction should take place between June and October, with work around the school complete by August 15.