Thank you for joining us on May 6th for the North Gap Groundbreaking Celebration! Attendees joined together to celebrate improved traffic flow and freight movement, as well as overall corridor performance, capacity and safety.
Attendees
Members of MnDOT, the Highway 23 Coalition and Mathiowetz Construction gathered along with local, county and state elected officials and corridor community members to celebrate the start of this long awaited project.
Highway 23 Gaps Expansion Projects
The North Gap project expands 9 miles of Highway 23 to four lanes from Paynesville to Richmond. Also, several intersections along Highway 23 will be reconfigured to improve sightlines, reduce potential crash points and enhance safety.
Work began April 4 to move the Glacial Lakes State Trail. The trail is currently closed from County Road 12 to the river in Richmond until May 13. The North Gap project concludes in 2023.
The North Gap project is part of the 3 year Highway 23 Gaps expansion project which received funding through the Corridors of Commerce program in May 2018. In addition to the North Gap, the South Gap expansion of Hwy 23 to four lanes from New London to Paynesville is scheduled for construction from early 2023 through 2024.
When the North Gap and South Gap sections are both complete, Hwy 23 travelers will be able to experience continuous four-lane travel from Willmar to Foley.
Additional Traffic Impacts
Three detours will be required to complete the North Gap project. In addition to the main detour of Highway 23, Stearns County Road 43 will be closed from Hwy 23 to Fellows Road to replace a culvert and a detour will be in place from June 6 through August 2022. As part of the project, County Road 12 will be detoured for two weeks in 2023 as well.
Detour for Highwy 23 North Gap Begins May 16
Learn more about the detour and stay updated with more information from the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
