Motorists may use the new U.S. Highway 52/Goodhue County Road 9 interchange, which opened to traffic on Saturday evening seven miles south of Cannon Falls, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

Work remains to be done on the project and motorists will encounter single-lane traffic in each direction on Highway 52 in the work zone. Work continues to remove the 90th Avenue intersection with Highway 52. Flaggers will direct traffic on the Goodhue County Road 9 bridge, where crews are grinding the bridge deck pavement. Work is expected to be done by the end of the week, weather permitting.

Mathiowetz Construction of Sleepy Eye was the contractor on the $6.72 million project. A description of the project can be found on MnDOT’s project page at www.dot.state.mn.us/d6/projects/hwy52cr9cr1/index.html.

With the construction of this new quadrant interchange, MnDOT is working with its partners to enhance the safety of an efficient and effective transportation system.

From 2004-2013, there were 71 vehicle crashes recorded at the intersection. Five of the crashes were fatal, and seven of the crashes caused serious injury. Approximately 20,300 vehicles a day travel this road.

The project marks another safety improvement in the Highway 52 corridor. Earlier this year, a new $14.3 million interchange project was completed in Cannon Falls. That work includes new access roads to the nearby businesses and removing the two remaining stop lights between Rochester and St. Paul on Highway 52.