Unseasonably cold weather has halted work on the Highway 14 expansion project for the year east of Owatonna and work will resume in the spring, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

Traffic will remain single lane in each direction in the construction zone. Westbound motorists will continue to use the crossover between Steele County Road 6 (Austin Road) and Highway 218. Eastbound Highway 14 traffic will continue to be reduced to single lane just west of Steele County Road 6 (Austin Road).

The westbound off-ramp to Highway 218 and Steele County Road 48 will remain closed during the winter months.

Work is expected to resume in late April or early May on the project. The project east of Owatonna began on July 7 from Highway 218 east to 54th Avenue.

The contractor, Mathiowetz Construction Company Inc. of Sleepy Eye, is expanding Highway 41 from two lanes to four lanes and is part of the Corridors of Commerce state program for highway construction in Minnesota. The $12 million project is expected to be completed in September of 2015.

For more information, go to MnDOT’s project page at www.dot.state.mn.us/d6/projects/hwy14-218-to-cr-180/index.html.

With this project, MnDOT is working to enhance an efficient and effective transportation system.