Temporary detour on Highway 55/59 in Elbow Lake starts this week

Jake Sias
Grant County Herald

The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) announced on Wednesday, August 9, that a temporary detour on Highway 55/59 in Elbow Lake will commence starting at 7:30 a.m., on Tuesday, Aug. 15. The detour will allow railroad crews to complete necessary repairs at the crossing.

Motorists traveling along this route will be redirected to an alternate path involving County Highway 1/Division Street West, County Road 25, and County Road 54.

The repairs are expected to take roughly three days to complete, given that weather conditions are favorable. The Department has stated that Highway 55/59 is scheduled to reopen by 5 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 17.

MnDOT has issued a strong reminder to all motorists to exercise caution while driving near the work zone. They have emphasized the importance of slowing down in the area, and have warned against entering any roadway that has been blocked with barriers or cones.

For those seeking real-time updates on traffic and travel information in Minnesota, the Department encourages visits to the website: www.511mn.org. A free smartphone app is also available for download on both Google Play and the App Store, providing on-the-go information to drivers.

Jeff Holsen, Elbow Lake’s city manager, commented saying, “It needs to be fixed and hopefully it will be fixed the right way because this happens too frequently.” Also while looking at the proposed detour, Holsen suggested that trucks might find it easier to instead head eastward out of town, then turn south if they wish to go toward Barrett.