Winter, Road Construction Seasons Merge
This year’s road construction season begins with a delay because of snow.
“It’s pretty obvious construction is not going to get started this week,” says Sue Mulvihill, MnDOT’s deputy commissioner and chief engineer.
Mulvihill joined several Minnesota Department of Transportation leaders to announce 2018’s road construction projects in a St. Paul press conference. Most of this year’s projects will take place on the fringe of the CCX News viewing area.
Highway 169 Champlin
Expect slow commutes on Hwy 169 in Brooklyn Park and Champlin as traffic is merged into a single lane for the Highway 169 Champlin project. One project stretches from the Mississippi River to East Hayden Lake Road and includes rebuilding bridges over Elm Creek. The second project begins at East Hayden Lake Road and goes to Highway 610.
“We originally planned to do resurfacing a few years later, but decided since we were going to be out there, we’d do both projects at the same time and get it out of the way,” says Kent Barnard, MnDOT spokesperson. “When we are done, there won’t be any work for out there for quite a while.”
Highway 610
Crews will be installing a cable median on the new portion of Highway 610 which will require taking away the left lane and left shoulder at times. Crews do not plan on working during rush hour.
Highway 252
MnDOT also plans to kick off a few studies on how to improve Highway 252.
“We’re looking at dramatic changes to Highway 252 between Interstate 94 and Highway 610. We’re looking at access and possible interchanges and closures,” says Barnard.
There will be opportunities for public input in both Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center this summer.
Highway 55
Highway 55 from the Hennepin County-Wright County border to Minneapolis will also get safety improvements with new guardrails, tree trimming and culvert work.
“It’s safety,” explains Minnesota Department of Transportation spokesperson David Aeikens. “We are doing things to make the roads safer on the 23-mile stretch of Highway 55.”
Stay in the know
If you want to avoid sitting in traffic, MN-DOT officials say you can stay tuned into the latest traffic information by signing up for email alerts for your specific project area or download the 5-1-1 app on your smart phone.
