Highway 61 to see plethora of projects this summer

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Highway 61 is bound to be a congested road this summer as a plethora of road projects are scheduled along the road between Hastings and St. Paul.

One project – from Highway 10 to St. Paul Park – involves eight and a half miles of work along Highway 61. It is a resurfacing and rehabilitation project.

“The project was actually moved up to this year from 2014 because of the additional funding we received from the American Recovery and Revitalization Act, stimulus monies,” said Diane Langenbach, Minnesota Department of Transportation project manager for the south metro area.

This is a large project and will connect with the completed work, and the work expected to be completed this year, as part of the Wakota Bridge project near Newport, she said.

“What this project is, is a concrete overlay where there is 10 inches of concrete overlay topped by two inches of bituminous overlay,” she said. “This is considered a restoration project that extends the life of the roadway by 30 to 40 years.”

The project will raise the surface of the roadway nearly a foot, adding extra life to it.

The project, which will go out for bids the middle of this month, is scheduled to begin in May, with completion by October.

The project will be done in four stages along the highway. Each stage will run about 30 days.

There will be impact on traffic throughout the project but the road will not be closed. Two open lanes of traffic – one northbound, one southbound, will be maintained on the highway.

Work on the ramps to the highways, pedestrian work on the signal at 80th Street and replacement of the signals at Highways 10 and 95 are scheduled as part of this project.

“The safety aspect of the planned project is stressed, and the traffic should flow easier through the area,” Langenbach said.

Open house meetings about the project are scheduled for later this month.

The Hastings Star Gazette is owned by Forum Communications, also the parent company of the Woodbury Bulletin.

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