Photo courtesy of MnDOT Inspector Katie Osborne State Highway 4 road construction workers lower a 128-foot long bridge beam with two cranes over the Cottonwood River Sept. 13. The bridge is forecast to be completed in mid to late November.

BROWN COUNTY – State Highway 4 from Watonwan County Road 3 north of St. James to Highway 30 opened to traffic Thursday, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

Motorists should expect lane restrictions and watch for flaggers on Highway 4 between Watonwan County Road 3 and Highway 30 until early October as crews complete work along the shoulders.

Resurfacing on Highway 4 from Highway 14 near Sleepy Eye to Highway 30 is expected to be complete in mid-October. Traffic is detoured to Highway 14, Brown County Road 8, Watonwan County Road 5, and Highway 30.

Replacement of the Cottonwood River bridge south of Sleepy Eye is expected to be complete in mid or late November. For safety, public carry-in water access near the Cottonwood River on Highway 4 south of Sleepy Eye remains closed during bridge construction.

Completion of construction on Highway 4 has been delayed several weeks due in part to heavy rains in June and Cottonwood River flooding.

“Bridge pier construction work stopped for three weeks. We had to add additional metal sheets when we dug down and pumped out water for pile driving and pouring concrete,” said MnDOT District 7 Construction Supervisor Parker Pendergast.

He said most of the TH 4 highway construction is forecast to be done in mid-October. The detour on CR 24 just south of the Cottonwood River bridge, west to CR 8 through Leavenworth and north to Highway 14 will remain in effect until bridge work is done.

The Highway 4 project between St. James to Sleepy Eye includes roadway resurfacing, bridge, and drainage improvements. In addition to resurfacing approximately 25 miles of roadway, three bridges including a box culvert south of Sleepy Eye will be replaced. Rumble strips will be added and guardrail will be updated.

Additionally, the improvements made to the road will allow Highway 4 from St. James and Sleepy Eye to become a 10-ton route.

Construction was delayed from 2023 until 2024 as MnDOT worked closely with Brown and Watonwan counties to determine project needs and the desire by local partners to build a 10-ton route.

Benefits of the project include improved pavement, drainage, and safety. Ulland Brothers, Inc. was awarded the project with a bid of $18,884,550.58.

Visit the Highway 4 St. James to Sleepy Eye project website for project and detour information, and to sign up for email updates.

Information will be shared on the MnDOT South Central Facebook group and on X @mndotscentral.

For real-time traffic and travel information in Minnesota, visit www.511mn.org or get the free smartphone app at Google Play or the App Store.

For more information visit the Department of Natural Resources at: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/water_access/index.html and MnDOT at https://www.dot.state.mn.us/projects/hwy4stjames-sleepyeye/