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Construction on Bridge Avenue is slated to resume on Monday with work this year focused on the stretch between Minnie Maddern Street and Hammer Road.

A letter sent out this week to residents in the area by SRF Consulting, which is providing construction oversight for the project, stated there is also some remaining work to be completed along the first phase of the project done last summer from Marshall Street to Minnie Maddern, including concrete work, final restoration and cleanup.

Work on the new stretch of roadway will first begin with pavement removal and utility installation between Minnie Maddern and Richway Drive, and once those are completed, the road section will be constructed and paved.

Though some work will also be happening north of Richway Drive at that time, the primary focus will be on first completing work south of Richway Drive, along with finishing all work from last year south of Minnie Maddern, the letter stated. Work from Marshall Street to Richway Drive is expected to be completed by mid- to late June, if weather cooperates, said Freeborn County Engineer Phil Wacholz.

Road removal and utility construction will continue north of Richway Drive the remainder of the summer, with a projected completion date targeted for the end of September, the letter states.

Bridge Avenue will be closed between Minnie Maddern and Hammer Road with a detour route for motorists. Though the Richway Drive intersection will be closed in the spring, crews aim to reopen the intersection as soon as work there is complete.

Wacholz said starting Monday, local traffic will be detoured using Hawthorne Street, Lakewood Avenue, Richway Drive, Greenwood Drive and Hammer Road. The Hawthorne intersection will remain open with the north leg for local traffic only. The Quisley Street intersection will also remain open, but Richway Drive will be closed.

Wacholz said a second detour will be installed for truck traffic that will include Hawthorne Street, Lakewood Avenue, Richway Drive and Plaza Street due to a load-restricted bridge on Greenwood Drive.

A final lift of bituminous is expected in 2022 along the entirety of the project — from Marshall Street to Hammer Road — as well as final project cleanup.

Ulland Bros. is the primary contractor for the joint city of Albert Lea and Freeborn County project. The road is a joint project between the city and county because the road is owned and maintained by the county, but underground utilities are owned and maintained by the city. The $12.24 million project received $5.785 million in federal funding.