Photo by Deb Gau MnDOT project manager Jesse Vlaminck went over some of the details of plans for a J-turn at the intersection of Highway 23 and Tiger Drive. Construction of the J-turn is scheduled for 2028.

MARSHALL — Plans for a J-turn on Minnesota Highway 23 near Marshall High School are taking shape, Minnesota Department of Transportation representatives said this week. At an informational open house Thursday, MnDOT spokespeople said construction of the J-turn is scheduled to begin in 2028.

Safety improvements at the intersection of Highway 23 and Tiger Drive are something that MnDOT has been working together with the city of Marshall on for some time, said MnDOT traffic engineer Cody Brand.

Marshall area residents brought safety concerns at the intersection forward in discussions with MnDOT in 2024. Before and after school, the Tiger Drive intersection becomes busy with vehicles trying to turn onto or cross Highway 23, or trying to make a U-turn at the intersection.

MnDOT spokespeople said Thursday that a J-turn will help improve safety at the intersection, by reducing fatalities and injuries caused by broadside crashes.

Marshall already has other J-turns along the Highway 23 corridor, including at the intersection of Highway 23 and Saratoga street, and Highway 23 and Lyon County Road 7.

Brand and MnDOT project manager Jesse Vlaminck said a J-turn was a lower-cost way to improve traffic safety at the Tiger Drive intersection. The proposal was also helped by Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) funding. In 2025, MnDOT was awarded a total of $2.686 million for three different road projects. The Tiger Drive J-turn project received $1.98 million of the HSIP funding.

The estimated cost of the J-turn is about $2.6 million, MnDOT spokespeople said Thursday.

Vlaminck said the J-turn project is in the preliminary design process. MnDOT hopes to bid the project in time for the 2028 construction season.

With the new J-turn in place, the entrances to both Tiger Drive and Stadium Drive at Southwest Minnesota State University will become right-in, right-out. In order to cross Highway 23 or make left turns, drivers will use special U-turn lanes. The U-turn lanes will have a larger apron to accommodate vehicles like semi trucks.

Vlaminck said there will not be any pedestrian barriers at the J-turn, but it’s preferred that people use the pedestrian underpass running from the high school campus to SMSU to cross Highway 23. He said pedestrians and cyclists already mainly use the underpass to cross the highway.

Vlaminck said MnDOT would wait until school was out at MHS before starting construction in 2028. During construction, traffic on Highway 23 will likely be narrowed down to one lane. Aaron Vacek, project manager with consultants SRF, said the goal would be to complete the project in the window between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

As construction gets nearer, Vlaminck said MnDOT will likely have additional events where the public can learn about the J-turn project.