Posted: 9/28/04
County Road 3 almost done
A large and lengthy road project on County Road 3 between Caledonia and Brownsville is nearing completion.
Traffic has been stop and go in several sections for the past couple weeks while huge milling machines have ground up the blacktop on Wiebke Hill, the Brownsville hill, and the main street of Brownsville.
New blacktop is now being put down on these areas. That should be done by the end of this week, county engineer Allen Henke said on September 22.
Rock will then be put on the shoulders, and the road will be striped. The project should be ìbuttoned upî by the third week in October, weather permitting, Henke said.
The 3.5-mile stretch between County Road 24 and Gavin Road was the biggest part of the project. Last year blacktop was removed, and it was widened and reconfigured to eliminate some sharp curves. New culverts, curbs, and an aggregate base were put in, all at a cost of $1.2 million.
The reason the project took two years has to do with funding, Henke said. ìThese are very expensive projects to complete,î he said. The county only gets a certain about of money a year and can do a certain portion at a time, he said, plus roads that are rebuilt have to settle a year before surfacing.
Since 1988, when work first began by the fairgrounds in Caledonia, $10.2 million has been spent on County Road 3, Henke said.
Caledonia Argus
314 West Lincoln St.
P.O. Box 227
Caledonia, MN 55921-0227
507/724-3475
E-Mail: editor.argus@ecm-inc.com