Motorists accustomed to driving into or out of Albert Lea on West Main Street will have to get used to street closures and other changes as a result of bridge and road work starting Monday.

Tuesday, February 12, 2002

Motorists accustomed to driving into or out of Albert Lea on West Main Street will have to get used to street closures and other changes as a result of bridge and road work starting Monday. Parking restrictions on Front Street related to the project have already been implemented and will remain in force until its completion.

Starting on Monday, Feb. 18, the segment of W. Main Street in Albert Lea between Euclid Avenue and First Avenue will close so crews can begin to remove the viaduct bridge. That part of the street, including the Euclid and Main intersection, will be closed until November, and through traffic will be routed to Front Street.

To accommodate the anticipated increase in traffic, there will be no street-side parking on either side of Front Street until the project is completed. First Avenue will also be a no-parking zone along the detour route.

The entire project will be supervised by the Minnesota Department of Transportation, and involves replacing the viaduct bridge, resurfacing the next bridge to the west over the I & M Rail Link, grading and surfacing West Main Street and the north and south frontage roads from Ermina Avenue to First Avenue, and installing a traffic signal at the intersection of First Avenue.

The original viaduct bridge was built in 1934.

During the first phase of construction, West Main will be closed from the intersection with Euclid to First. Traffic will be detoured via First Avenue and Front Street. Customer access to businesses located along the frontage roads connecting to Euclid will be maintained throughout the project, according to MnDOT officials.

In the second phase of the project, later this summer, when crews widen the I & M Rail Link bridge and resurface West Main from First Avenue to just east of Highway 13, all through traffic will be detoured via Front Street starting at Highway 69. MnDOT has given the contractor two months to finish this segment of the project. Main Street access to Skyline Mall will remain open throughout.

Once the grading and surfacing phase of the project is completed, West Main will reopen from Highway 69 to First Avenue. The entire project should be completed in November.

Lunda Construction Company of Black River Falls, Wis., is the prime contractor for the $5.8 million improvement. They will be coordinating the project through their office in Rosemount.