CONSTRUCTION BEGINNING ON ROSE STREET AND OAK AVENUE
Owatonna, Minn. – A construction project will begin on two major thoroughfares through Owatonna -- Rose Street and Oak Avenue. Work will begin August 20 on Rose Street and then early September on Oak Avenue.
Rose Street (County Highway 19) from Hoffman Drive to Willow Avenue will be closed to westbound traffic starting August 20. Westbound traffic will be detoured using Willow Avenue, Vine Street, Oak Ave, and Hoffman Drive. Side streets crossing Rose Street will be closed at Rose Street with northbound traffic permitted to take right turns only. Grove Avenue and Cedar Avenue will remain open to northbound and southbound traffic. No parking will be permitted on Rose Street during the project.
Work in the westbound lane of Rose Street is expected to last about a month, then the road closure and detour will be reversed. Construction on Oak Avenue (County Highway 45) will be done under traffic with lane closures. One lane of traffic will be open in each direction on Oak Avenue. Motorists should expect delays.
The work is part of a two-year construction project expected to be completed by the end of summer in 2020. During the 2019 construction season, the project will rehabilitate the concrete pavement on both Rose Street from Hoffman Drive to Willow Avenue and on Oak Avenue from Holly Street to Rose Street. Traffic signals will be modified and signals at the Oak Avenue intersections of Vine Street and McKinley Street will be removed. A pedestrian signal system will be installed at the intersection of Oak Avenue and School Street. Oak Avenue will be reconfigured from four lanes of traffic to three lanes of traffic with one lane in each direction and a left turn lane in the center.
During the 2020 construction season, a roundabout will be constructed at the intersection of Rose Street and Grove Avenue, pedestrian ramps will be reconstructed throughout the project to meet current Americans with Disabilities Act standards, and work on the city sanitary sewer will be completed on Rose Street.
All dates are subject to change due to weather or other factors. Steele County advises motorists to drive with caution and slow down through work zones for their safety and for the safety of the construction crews.
For updates on this or other Steele County Highway construction projects, visit: www.co.steele.mn.us/divisions/public_works/transportation/construction_projects.php .
