Austin I-90 detours planned Oct. 24-25, 27 to prepare for new traffic changes

AUSTIN, Minn. – Motorists on Interstate 90 in Austin will be detoured Oct. 24-25 and again Oct. 27, while construction crews prepare for upcoming traffic changes, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

I-90 will close for 30 hours in both directions at 6 p.m., Friday, Oct. 24 as construction crews build crossover lanes on the highway and complete additional work on the 4th Street NW bridge. I-90 will reopen late Saturday night, Oct. 25.

One crossover will be built between 6th St NE and the Cedar River. The other will be built between the Cedar River and 4th St NW. This will reduce the single-lane traffic in each direction in the eastbound lanes as work continues late into the season. The traffic will change in mid- to late-November, which will require another closure of I-90.

An additional closure is planned from 8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 27 to 6 a.m., Tuesday, Oct. 28 for crews to work on the surface finish on the 4th St NW bridge. Traffic will be detoured during this time because the work will be occurring over the traveling lanes.

During the closures, motorists will be detoured:

Eastbound I-90 traffic will be detoured off I-90 at Highway 105/Oakland Avenue bridge (Exit 175) on the west side of Austin and follow Highway 105 south and east to Mower County Road 28 east to Highway 218 north and then reconnect with I-90. Eastbound motorists will be able to exit further east at Highway 218 (14th Street Northwest), which is Exit 177, but no travel is allowed beyond on I-90.
Westbound I-90 traffic will be detoured off I-90 at Highway 218 south (Exit 180 B) on the east side of Austin. Travel south on Highway 218 to Mower County Road 28 west to Highway 105 north where it will reconnect with I-90 on the west side of Austin at the Highway 105/Oakland Avenue bridge.
Westbound traffic will be able reach Austin destinations by using exits at:

Oakland Place Northeast (Exit 180 A)
11th Drive Northeast (Exit 179)
6th Street Northeast (178B) - No traffic will be allowed past this exit during the nightly closures.

This is Year 2 of a three-year $50 million construction project at six sites in Austin. The new bridge will open to traffic at 4th Street Northwest in December. Other bridge construction is planned for 2026.

To learn more about the project, visit the MnDOT project website where you can also sign up to receive email and text message updates.

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