Roundabout construction on Highway 1 in Thief River Falls begins June 1

BEMIDJI, Minn. – The Minnesota Department of Transportation announced the first phase of construction will begin June 1 for three roundabouts along Highway 1 in Thief River Falls.

Work during this phase will take place on Highway 1 between Kinney Avenue and East Ruby Avenue, as crews construct a frontage road as well as roundabouts at Brooks Avenue and Barzen Avenue. Motorists will detour onto First Street West.

When complete, crews will begin phase 2 with the construction of a roundabout at the intersection of Highways 1 and 59. The phase 2 detour follows Pennington County Road 31 and County Road 14.

RJ Zavoral & Sons, Inc is the contractor for the project, which is expected to last through early October, weather permitting. Visit the project website to sign up for email updates and to view an interactive detour map http://www.mndot.gov/d2/projects/2020/hwy1-roundabouts.

Between MnDOT, Pennington County, the City of Thief River Falls, and the Red Lake Watershed, there are 10 projects happening in Thief River Falls and the surrounding area in 2020. The projects do not all begin at once as MnDOT and its partners have worked together to combine and stage detours to lessen the overall impact on motorists. For more information on those projects visit http://www.mndot.gov/d2/projects/2020/thief-river-falls.

MnDOT road work has been identified as a critical service in Gov. Tim Walz’s Stay Safe executive order. We are being as flexible as possible with schedules during this period of lower traffic volumes to keep projects moving forward and minimize the impact to motorists. Following guidance from state and federal health officials, and to prevent further spread of COVID-19, crews will maintain social distancing practices while working.

For traffic and travel information in Minnesota, visit http://www.511mn.org or get the free smartphone app at Google Play or the App Store.