MARSHALL — A major intersection on Marshall’s Main Street will close down starting Monday, as part of ongoing construction on Minnesota Highway 19, contractors said this week.

R and G Construction representative Erika Coudron said construction will start in the intersection of Highway 19 (College Drive) and Main Street starting May 18. This means the intersection will be closed down, as utilities like sanitary sewer lines are replaced. Coudron said a gravel crossing will be open at West Redwood Street, to allow local traffic to cross East College Drive. But the whole downtown Highway 19 construction area between Main Street and Marshall Street will remain closed to traffic.

A detour for through traffic will remain in place on Lyon County Road 7, Minnesota Highway 23 and Lyon County Road 33.

In addition to replacing sewer lines, the construction at the Main Street/College Drive intersection will include replacing the traffic lights, upgrading the roadbed, and putting in new concrete pavement and sidewalks. Coudron did not have a specific estimate for how long the Main Street intersection work will take, but she said construction crews will be focused on getting it done it in a timely manner.

“The new signal system and all the different concrete pours that will need to happen will take time,” Coudron told the Independent on Tuesday. “Once we close (the intersection), it will be our main focus as well as our subcontractors’, to get it completed and back open in a timely manner for the city of Marshall and the traveling public.”