WILLMAR, Minn. – Area residents, business owners and others are invited to attend an open house on Thursday, January 12 to learn more about the expansion of Highway 23 from Paynesville to Richmond. This is the fourth open house for the Highway 23 expansion project. The previous open house was held on May 12, 2016.
Community members are welcome to drop by anytime between 4:00 to 6:00 pm at the St. Peter and Paul Gymnasium (110 Central Avenue North) in Richmond.
The focus of this open house will be to view changes made to the layout as a result of comments made at the May 12 open house and to gather additional feedback from community members. There will not be a formal presentation. An open house to view the final layout will be scheduled for the spring/summer of 2017. A date has not been set.
Individuals not able to make the open house are encouraged to visit the web site (www.dot.state.mn.us/d8/projects/hwy23gappaynesvillerichmond/index.html) to view the draft design layout.
The project is part of the Corridors of Commerce program, which the Legislature created in 2013. The program is intended to foster economic growth in the state by providing additional highway capacity where there are bottlenecks in the system, improving the movement of freights and reducing barriers to commerce.
Currently, all but 15 miles of the 53-mile stretch of Highway 23 between Willmar and Interstate 94 have been constructed as a four-lane roadway. One of the gaps is from Paynesville to Richmond.
MnDOT has received Corridors of Commerce funding to help prepare environmental work for future expansion and begin purchasing right of way. No funding for construction is available at this time.
To request an ASL or foreign language interpreter, call 651-366-4720. To request other reasonable accommodations, call 651-366-4718 or email adarequest.dot@state.mn.us.
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