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Work this year will focus on a 7.5-mile segment of Highway 23 from Co. Rd. 140 on the east end of Cold Spring to a half mile west of Richmond.

The detour will start on Monday, April 12. The detour is necessary so the existing bridge over the Sauk River can be demolished and then a new, four-lane bridge can be constructed.

Work on the fourth, and final, segment of the Highway 23 expansion between I-94 and Richmond will start this week, MnDOT announced. Work will center on the highway between Cold Spring and Richmond, and a detour through Cold Spring will start next week so the bridge over the Sauk River can be replace.

During the work, eastbound Highway 23 traffic will be detoured through Cold Spring using Third Avenue and then Main Street. Westbound traffic will use Main Street and then Co. Rd. 2 (Red River Avenue).

The Minnesota Department of Transportation advises motorists who drive Highway 23 to plan accordingly and to allow extra travel time for the detour.

In addition, Highway 23 traffic between Cold Spring and Richmond will encounter a variety of traffic restrictions throughout the construction season including traffic shifts, reduced speeds, flaggers, and increased truck traffic as construction crews complete grading and blacktop surfacing of two new highway lanes, as well as constructing frontage roads and building a new park-and-ride lot.

According to Mickey Klasen, project supervisor for MnDOT, traffic should be alert for heavy equipment moving in and around this construction zone, especially at intersections crossing Highway 23. The existing two lanes of Highway 23 will be reconstructed prior to the roadway being opened to four-lane traffic.

This year's segment is the final stage of the four-lane expansion of Highway 23 for 14 miles from I-94 to Richmond. Completed over four years, the project cost $60 million. Weather permitting, the work on the entire corridor is expected to be complete in November, according to MnDOT.