An Open House will be held Thursday, April 24, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., in the Mountain Lake City Hall Council Chambers will share the construction plans for the new four-lane section on Minnesota Highway #60 between Mountain Lake to Butterfield.
The construction of the two additional lanes between the two cities (the Middle Gap) is scheduled for 2015-2016.
Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) design engineers will be on hand to share the details of the plans with the public – as well as address any comments during the open house.
Construction between Butterfield and St. James (the East Gap) began on July 10, 2013. At that time, work included grading, bridge work and connections. This year’s focus will be on road paving and work on the railroad bridge at Butterfield.
This includes:
* Two new eastbound lanes of six miles to the south of the existing two-lane section between Butterfield and St. James.
* Two new eastbound lanes of five miles to the south of the existing two-lane section between Mountain Lake and Butterfield.
* Two new westbound lanes of eight miles to the north of the existing two lane section between Mountain Lake and Windom. (This alignment was selected because it has fewer business and farmland impacts and is most cost effective.)
* Realignment of three county roads to lessen skew between roadways.
* Possible realignment in the Bingham Lake area.
* More final designs are underway.
The total cost of the project is an estimated $78 million.
MnDot lists the benefits of the project as:
* Better highway capacity
* Less traffic congestion
* Safer and more mobility with four-lane divided highway design
* Better regional connectivity of the Highway #60 corridor from Mankato, Minnesota to Sioux City, Iowa
