Construction is now scheduled to begin on July 6

The Highway 34 resurfacing project, between County Road 29 east of Detroit Lakes to County Road 26/47 west of Osage, has been rescheduled to start on Thursday, July 6, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

Due to traffic concerns along Highway 34 during construction, the prime contractor, Central Specialties, Inc., has proposed incorporating another crew on the project to help tighten up the schedule and shorten the duration of the detour. Starting July 6, the detour will be installed and work zone preparations will begin. Then, crews will begin culvert work with intermittent closures starting Monday, July 10.

With the addition of another crew, residents and other local traffic should be aware that construction staging for the culvert replacements is likely to change. There may be multiple closures and flagging operations occurring simultaneously, and may cause longer delays in the work zone. More information will be announced as MnDOT continues to work with the contractor on those details.

Paving is expected to start in August, and the hard closure for the bridge replacement at the Shell River is still planned for early August as well. Project completion remains unchanged, with construction expected to wrap up by mid-October. 

MnDOT apologizes for any inconvenience the recent schedule changes have caused, but is hopeful that the revised plan will reduce long-term traffic impacts.

All schedules and work plans are subject to change at any time based on weather, contractor schedules or other unforeseen circumstances or issues.

For more information about the $15.7 million project and to sign up for project email updates, visit the project website at www.mndot.gov/d4/projects/hwy34.

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.