Staff photo by Fritz Busch Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) signs are up and alterting Highway 14 motorists of the U.S. Highway 14 road closure and detour from New Ulm to Nicollet beginning April 11. The highway will be closed from Nicollet CR 21 to TH 111. Through traffic will be detoured to Highways 15, 68 and 169 during the project scheduled for completion in October 2023.

NEW ULM — Flashing and reflective highway signs reminded motorists to expect a detour U.S. Highway 14 beginning April 11 from New Ulm to Nicollet.

Crews will begin construction on the 12.5-mile corridor project expanding Highway 14 from two to four lanes between New Ulm to Nicollet.

Through traffic will be detoured to Highways 15, 68 and 169 until project completion scheduled for October 2023.

Detour routes and access points are expected to change throughout different construction stages.

The project includes a significant realignment of Highway 14 and Nicollet CR 37 including a new bridge overpass with Highway 14 going under it. CR 37 will continue northeast of the intersection and connect with a township road.

Highway 14 from CR 37 to Minnesota Valley Lutheran School is scheduled to remain open to local traffic from April 11 until the middle of May.

The new Highway 14 will bypass Courtland to the north. The realignment will reconnect with current Highway 14 before MVL and across the road from S&S Motors, west of Courtland.

Other project highway improvements include:

• Converting the existing two-lane highway to a four-lane divided highway

• Bypassing Courtland by realigning Highway 14 north of the city

• Constructing new interchanges in Courtland and at Co. Rd. 37 in New Ulm

• Constructing safer intersections at New Ulm Quartzite Quarries and Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School

• Adding turn lanes

• Installing snow fence between Courtland and Nicollet to prevent excessive blowing and drifting snow.

Hoffman Construction of Black River Falls, Wisconsin, was awarded the project with a bid of $83.5 million.

Project information, detour maps, weekly construction updates and a one-minute video to view the planned improved changes can be found online at: dot.state.mn.

Interested residents can stay connected by signing up for email or text message updates throughout the project’s construction.

Information will be shared on the MnDOT|South Central Minnesota Facebook group and the MnDOT District 7 Twitter account.

For updated road condition information, call 511 or visit 511mn.org.

(Fritz Busch can be emailed at fbusch@nujournal.com).