Get ready for slowdowns in Ham Lake between 147th Avenue/Andover Boulevard and Bunker Lake Boulevard.
“We’ll be single lane head-to-head traffic in that area through mid to late May,” said MnDOT’s Kent Barnard. “Then through the month of June we’ll be out here doing some paving and putting down striping, putting down guardrails. Some of that work. We should be done and out of here before the July 4th weekend. In fact I’m gonna promise that.”
In early April, MnDOT crews began the giant construction project on this north-south road.
“This is a huge project,” Barnard said. “We did about 19 miles of highway 65 last year. This is the final stretch.”
Barnard suggests that anyone using the road should check MnDOT’s 511 traveler information site.
“Make sure you know what’s going on out here,” Barnard said. “If you can, plan your trips outside of rush hour or use an alternate route.”
Gateway to the north and the Twin Cities
There is a high volume of traffic on 65 as cars and trucks whizz by with frequency.
The highway is a gateway to the north and the Twin Cities, and gets plenty of use.
“There are stretches of this road that carry as much traffic on a daily basis as I-35W does,” Barnard said.
If you’re going to be travelling on 65, be extra careful.
“I just want people to slow down when they’re going through here,” Barnard said. “There’s going to be vehicles coming in and out of the work zone. We’re going to have construction workers out here working on the roadway. We want everybody to be safe and get home safely.”
