We who live at the far end of the Highway 14 expansion project have lived for a long time with the doubt that this worthy project will ever reach New Ulm.

Even when the funding was announced last year and assurances were given, there were some lingering feelings that we shouldn’t believe it will happen until it happens.

Now, however, things are starting to happen. The Minnesota Department of Transportation announced Wednesday that preliminary work is scheduled to begin this coming Monday. MnDOT crews will begin cutting down trees and clearing away vegetation in the work area. The actual digging for the Nicollet to New Ulm section of Highway 14 is scheduled to begin in early April, as soon as the weather permits.

Get ready to take a detour for the next couple of years. Construction of the four-lane expansion, with a bypass around Courtland, will take until the fall of 2023, according to MnDOT.

It may seem like a long time, but remember, until a few years ago this section of Highway 14 wasn’t even on MnDOT’s 20 year plan.

A lot has happened since then. The state started its Corridors of Commerce program, which funneled more funds to projects like Highway 14, and the federal government started focusing on investing in infrastructure.

Thanks to all those in the Legislature, in Congress and in the state Capitol who worked to find a way to get this project completed, once and for all. It has been a long time coming, and we can wait a couple more years to see it completed.