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Delayed Highway 68 project starts July 12

Excavation on land section corners also coming this month, MnDOT says

MARSHALL — A highway project that was originally supposed to start in May will be getting underway this month instead, the Minnesota Department of Transportation said.

Work to replace culverts and widen the shoulders of Minnesota Highway 68 will start July 12, MnDOT announced Friday.

Detours will be in place for Highway 68 between Marshall and Minneota, as well as detours near Porter during culvert replacement work.

The $9.2 million construction project was planned to start May 9, but got put on hold due to issues relocating utilities along Highway 68, MnDOT said. The road work includes replacing culverts along Highway 68, and widening the shoulders on about 11 miles of the highway from North Grant Street in Minneota to the Redwood River in Marshall.

Highway 68 currently has four-foot paved shoulders and 12-foot driving lanes. After construction, there will be an additional four feet of gravel shoulder on both sides of the roadway. The completion date of the project is yet to be determined, MnDOT said.

During construction, traffic between Marshall and Minneota will be detoured on Minnesota Highway 19 and Lyon County Road 3, MnDOT said. Drivers traveling to the city of Ghent will take Highway 19 and turn north on Lyon County road 5.

Detours are also planned during culvert replacements north and south of the city of Porter. However, the Porter detours will not both be in effect at the same time, MnDOT said.

MnDOT is also asking drivers to be aware of excavation work in Lincoln and Lyon Counties this month. Contractors will be digging in the roadway along parts of U.S. Highway 14 east of Lake Benton, Minnesota Highway 19 east of Ivanhoe, County Road 7 east of Ivanhoe, Highway 19 east of Marshall, and County Road 9 east of Marshall.

The project is scheduled for July 11-14, MnDOT said. During that time, contractors will be digging holes measuring six feet wide by 6 feet long, and 6feet deep.

The excavations are needed to perpetuate the locations of section corners in the Public Land Survey System, MnDOT said. Information gathered from the project will also be used in future highway improvements.

During the excavations, flaggers will direct traffic through the digging area. Drivers can expect short delays, and are urged to use caution and obey the flagging crew’s instructions.

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