Caledonia Argus

Detour almost over

Posted: 8/5/03

By Jane Palen and Andrew Miller
of The Argus staff

Local residents will be happy to hear that the road through Hokah may be open as early as tomorrow.

The road is still officially closed, although many drivers have been proceeding through to County Road 7, the original detour route. The recent paving of the road has resulted in even more traffic.

Mark Anderson, MnDOT engineer, said traffic in the construction area has been a problem. He believes that once the subgrade was in and the road was passable, some drivers took that as a sign that it was permissible to travel through the construction area.

ìThatís not correct,î said Anderson. ìThe road is closed 24 hours a day. The only traffic allowed is that using the local businesses, and they should get in and then get back out.î

Anderson said he has heard from his inspectors that traffic is especially heavy as people are going to and coming from work in La Crosse. The extra traffic works to slow the progress of the construction and also threatens the safety of those who are working on the project, he said.

ëThey shouldnít have to be watching for traffic,î Anderson commented.

The barricades have been moved closer in an attempt to discourage cars from using the road until all the necessary work is completed. Anderson said that people will know when the detour is off because the signs and barricades will be gone.

Once Main Street is open, traffic will still have to detour onto CSAH 7, but that detour results in little if any additional time. During the current detour, traffic was diverted to Brownsville, which is eight miles from Hokah, and then to Highway 26.

Al Thorson of Minowa Construction, project manager, reported that as of Friday, all bridges and culverts were in. Paving was to be completed Monday. He said the extra traffic has been a ìnuisanceî more than a hindrance.

Thorson predicted that the portion of the project from the Root River Bridge to Millers Corner, should be completed in two months.

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