Highway 7 to close for construction in April

Beginning April 14, all of State Highway 7 from Silver Lake to St. Bonifacius will be closed for a $13.3 million reconstruction project.

Don’t panic.

The detour between the Hutchinson area and the Twin Cities will only be nine miles longer than the current direct route, according to state Department of Transportation regional engineer Dave Johnston. That’s a fact that even surprised him.

The entire project should be done by Nov. 15, although portions of Highway 7 nearer the metro will open earlier as construction there is finished.

The Highway 7 project will feature the following:
• a complete mill and overlay, removing the top three inches of existing asphalt and replacing it with new asphalt,
• adding east and westbound passing lanes from County Road 15 to Eagle Avenue, east of Silver Lake,
• adding turn lanes at the Highway 7-County Road 9 intersection north of Lester Prairie,
• shaving down the crest of a gradual slope near the Highway 7-County Road 9 intersection to improve sight lines,
• adding east and westbound passing lanes between Carver County Road 21 and Tacoma Avenue, east of New Germany,
• adding an eastbound passing lane near State Highway 25, east of Mayer,
• adding a westbound passing lane near Carver County Road 10, west of St. Bonifacius,
• and adding two roundabouts at the Highway 7 intersections with Highway 25 and Carver County Road 10.

The detour route
Eastbound traffic from Hutchinson will be detoured south at the intersection of State Highway 7 and State Highway 22, although Highway 7 will remain open all the way to Silver Lake. The actual construction will start just east of Silver Lake.

The detour to the Twin Cities will follow Highway 22 south to Glencoe, continue east along U.S. Highway 212 to Norwood Young America, cut northeast on State Highway 5, and angle north on State Highway 41 to reconnect with Highway 7, north of Chaska.

By June 28, the easternmost portion of the project, from Carver County Road 10 on, should reopen. By Sept. 28, the easternmost segment starting from State Highway 25 should reopen. The rest of Highway 7 should reopen by Nov. 15.

For more on this story, see the Leader’s Feb. 28 print edition.

(Jorge Sosa is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sosa@hutchinsonleader.com)