Photo by Deb Gau Minnesota Highway 67 serves as one of the major roads passing through the city of Clarkfield, with several businesses and city buildings all located along the highway.

CLARKFIELD — Plans to reconstruct a portion of Minnesota Highway 67 in Clarkfield have been in the works for a couple of years. Next week, the Minnesota Department of Transportation will have an updated layout of the project to show members of the public.

MnDOT is planning an in-person open house for the Highway 67 reconstruction on Feb. 22 at Clarkfield City Hall. After the open house, the next big step for the highway project will be for MnDOT to get formal approval from the city of Clarkfield, said Mandi Lighthizer-Schmidt, director of public engagement for MnDOT District 8.

Construction on the roadway is planned to start in 2024, and will require a detour, MnDOT said.

The project will reconstruct more than six blocks of Highway 67 as it runs through Clarkfield. Highway 67 serves as a major route through the city, and several businesses and the Clarkfield post office, fire hall and city hall are all located along the road.

The reconstruction project doesn’t include the intersection of Highway 67 and U.S. Highway 59, but it will rebuild the street from just east of that intersection to Sixth Street in Clarkfield.

MnDOT said the project will also replace storm sewers and sidewalks in the project area, and add pedestrian ramps to meet ADA standards. The new road surface will be paved with blacktop, according to virtual open house materials from MnDOT. The proposed roadway will include two 12-foot driving lanes, and two 10-foot parking lanes.

For the most part, the Highway 67 project layout is similar to a preliminary layout presented to the public last fall, Lighthizer-Schmidt said. The updated layout includes some additional downtown parking.

MnDOT is seeking formal approval for the highway reconstruction from the city of Clarkfield, Lighthizer-Schmidt said. The city will be holding a hearing on the proposal in March.

The public open house event will be from 5-7 p.m. on Feb. 22, in the Clarkfield City Hall meeting room. Brief presentations on the Highway 67 project will be held at 5:15 p.m. and at 6:15 p.m.

Members of the public can also see the proposed project layout through a virtual open house at www.mndot.gov/d8/projects/hwy67clarkfield.

MnDOT is currently working on a couple of long-term highway projects in area cities. Both the Highway 67 project in Clarkfield and the Highway 19 reconstruction project planned in Marshall are going through similar planning and approval processes, Lighthizer-Schmidt said.

The Highway 19 project, which would rebuild College Drive between South Fourth Street and Bruce Street and build a roundabout near the National Guard Armory, is planned to start construction in 2025.