In a meeting yesterday (March 16), the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s Maintenance of Traffic (MOT) Task Force laid out the tentative schedule for the final year of construction on I-94 between Monticello and Clearwater.
Among the highlights from the meeting:
- Work will begin the second week of April with the construction phase of converting the nine miles of road between Monticello and Hasty beginning Friday, April 15.
- From April 17-24, crews will finalize any crossovers and emergency pulloffs, move the cement barriers and stripe for eastbound I-94 traffic in the westbound lanes.
- Starting Monday, April 25, all traffic will be moved to the westbound lanes of traffic with two lanes in each direction separated by a median.
- The completion date is expected to be Saturday, Aug. 13.
- Once the eastbound traffic gets diverted into two lanes in the westbound footprint, the Enfield Rest Area will be closed from April 25-Aug. 13.
- While the traffic is all on the westbound lanes, in the event of accidents or stalls, tow trucks will be on scene to prevent massive delays. They will be on site during peak hours (5:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays, 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays and 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Memorial Day and the 4th of July.
- Traffic may be reduced to one lane on eastbound I-94 between Clearwater and Hasty from 9 p.m. to 11 a.m. Sunday night into Monday, 6 p.m. to 11 a.m. Sunday through Friday, 6 p.m. to 10 a.m. on weekends.
- Traffic may be reduced to one lane on eastbound I-94 between Hasty and Monticello from 9 p.m. to noon Sunday night into Mondays, 6 p.m. to noon Monday through Friday and 6 p.m. to 10 a.m. on weekends.
- Traffic may be reduced to one lane and westbound I-94 between Hasty and Clearwater from 7 p.m. to 10 a.m. Sunday night into Monday, 8 p.m. to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday, 8 p.m. to 9 a.m. Friday night into Saturday and 5 p.m. to 10 a.m. Saturday night into Sunday.
- Traffic may be reduced to one lane on westbound I-94 between Monticello and Hasty from 7 p.m. to 10 a.m. Sunday night into Monday, 6 p.m. to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday, 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. Friday night into Saturday and 5 p.m. to 10 a.m. Saturday night into Sunday.
- Once traffic is moved into the westbound lanes of I-94, the speed limit will be 60 miles per hours 24 hours a day – whether work crews are on on-site or not – from Mile Marker 181 to 194.
- There will be no ramp closures during this process. Access ramps will be constructed for eastbound traffic at Hwy. 8 in Hasty and Hwy. 25 in Monticello.
- By mid-July there will be three lanes of eastbound traffic between Clearwater and Monticello. By Aug. 13, there will be lanes of traffic on both sides of I-94.
For more information about project as work is taking place during the spring and summer, check out MnDOT’s web page on this project https://www.dot.state.mn.us/i94-mg-clearwater/ or www.511mn.org.