MARSHALL — There’s a lot of road construction planned in and around Marshall this summer. In addition to the start of major reconstruction along Highway 19 (College Drive), construction is also planned to temporarily close a BNSF railroad crossing affecting Highway 68, and replace two bridges on Highway 23 near Green Valley.

A spokesperson from the Minnesota Department of Transportation said informational meetings on the Highway 19 reconstruction are planned April 16. One session will be geared toward business owners, while the other will be open to the general public.

Sandra Schlagel, public engagement coordinator for MnDOT District 8, said construction on the Highway 19 project is tentatively planned for May 5. This year, MnDOT plans to reconstruct the highway from an area near the intersection of Marlene Street, up to the intersection with U.S. Highway 59 (Main Street) in Marshall. Part of the project will include construction of a roundabout near the National Guard Armory.

The Highway 19 project will be broken up into four stages this summer, Schlagel said. MnDOT said staggering construction stages would help avoid disrupting traffic at Legion Field and the Marshall Aquatic Center during the summer. The part of Highway 19 that goes past Legion Field Park will be the last stage of this summer’s construction, according to information on MnDOT’s District 8 website.

During construction, there will be detours in place for both Highway 19 and Country Club Drive. The Highway 19 detour will take traffic onto Lyon County Road 7 and Highway 23.

Railroad crossing construction this summer

The detour for the Highway 19 construction will also serve as a detour for Highway 68, while railroad crossing construction takes place on Highway 68 (West Main Street). This week, Lyon County commissioners heard a request from MnDOT to use part of County Road 7 as a detour.

“This is another maintenance project for them. It’s the railroad crossing on Highway 68,” not far from the junction of Highway 68 and North U.S. Highway 59 in Marshall, said Lyon County highway engineer Aaron VanMoer. “The railroad is going to be replacing that crossing, and then (MnDOT) is going to be doing some road approach work at the same time.”

VanMoer said the Highway 68 detour would take Channel Parkway down to County Road 7 in Marshall.

On Tuesday, county commissioners approved a detour agreement with MnDOT to use County Road 7 as part of the detour.

Schlagel said part of the timing of the Highway 68 detour would be determined by the BNSF Railroad. The original window of time they were looking at for the detour to be in place was between May 19 and July 18, but the final detour dates could be over a shorter period of time, she said.

Green Valley detour

Another detour in the Marshall area will take traffic around bridge work on Minnesota Highway 23 near Green Valley. This summer, MnDOT plans to resurface a bridge which crosses the Redwood River north of Marshall, and a bridge crossing Threemile Creek near Green Valley. Both bridges will be resurfaced at the same time, according to information on MnDOT’s District 8 website. A detour on Highway 19 and Lyon County Road 9 will be in place for about a month, the site said.

Schlagel said information on the Green Valley bridge project and detour would also be discussed at the informational meetings for the Highway 19 project.

Two meetings are planned on April 16, at the Marshall-Lyon County Library. The first session at 2:30 p.m., will be for Marshall businesses. The second session, at 4, will be for the general public, Schlagel said.