Southbound Interstate 35 motorists who use the Bridge Street off-ramp in Owatonna will be detoured for approximately 30 days while the ramp is closed for construction and paving, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

The southbound I-35 ramp at Bridge Street (Exit 41) will be closed Monday as construction begins on the ramp. Motorists who need to exit should proceed south to the Highway 14 and I-35 interchange at Exit 40A for eastbound travel. Follow the route onto Highway 14 east over I-35 and then immediately take the Minneapolis/St. Paul exit onto northbound I-35 to Bridge Street. The construction work is expected to take until mid-October.

Meanwhile, the project continues with single-lane, head-to-head traffic as well as southbound traffic off-ramp and on-ramp closures.

Southbound traffic is crossed over into the northbound lanes of I-35 north of Steele County Road 2. Northbound traffic will continue in a single lane, while southbound uses the other lane. Southbound traffic will cross back over to two lanes south of Bridge Street.

The Hoffman Drive (Steele County Road 45) southbound off-ramp at Exit 42A is closed, as are southbound on-ramps at 26th Street Northwest (exit 43) and Steele County Road 2 (Exits 42 A&B). Those closures are expected to remain through early October.

The $19.1 million project is taking place over two years to replace the concrete I-35 roadways through Owatonna, as well as replace bridges and include additional safety features. The project with prime contractor Mathiowetz Construction began in early May and is expected to be complete in fall 2015.

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