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Public works updates: County Road 10 pacing toward winter, several bridge projects near completion
Summary
County staff reported progress on County Road 10 construction, multiple bridge replacements opening to traffic, right-of-way work on County Road 5 and an ongoing negotiation with Union Pacific over a crossing, and maintenance planning for winter.
Blue Earth County public works staff on Oct. 7 updated the Board on multiple road and bridge projects across the county and described sequencing decisions to manage contractor workloads and seasonal constraints.
The largest active project is County Road 10 between the west county line and County Road 20. Staff said the contractor, R & E Enterprises of Mankato, is working on grading and bridge-area activities; gravel placement on the east end is complete and paving is expected shortly. Staff said the county is working to have the roadway opened to gravel west of County Road 32 by Nov. 15 and to return the road to winter service, with the possibility of another spring closure to finish remaining work.
Staff listed several bridge projects that are wrapping up: County Road 139 is finishing gravel surfacing and turf establishment and should open to traffic this week or early next week; County Road 156 opened last Friday; County Road 14 completed paving yesterday and will finish shoulder work and turf establishment this week. The County Road 26 replacement (described as a culvert replaced with a box culvert treated as a bridge) remains in right-of-way acquisition with construction anticipated in spring or early summer 2026.
On County Road 5 (Riverfront to Summit), staff said the county received 95% plans from the design firm and will begin right-of-way acquisition work; the county is negotiating with Union Pacific on the railroad crossing, which started as added concrete panels to accommodate a sidewalk but became a full crossing replacement. Staff said Union Pacific’s current position is that the county would bear 100% of crossing replacement costs, and staff said they will seek participation but do not yet have a final agreement.
Other updates included County Road 15/28 work in Saint Clair, where underground work on County Road 28 North should complete this week and road work will follow; County Road 69 is about 90% designed in-house with Bolton & Menk assisting on storm sewer; and routine maintenance activities such as gravel road blading, ditch cleaning, tile/intake repairs, driveway work and bituminous patching are ongoing as weather allows.
Staff also noted uncertainty on timing for a County Road 40 slope repair and said the county may defer that work to spring depending on progress on County Road 10 and weather. Commissioners discussed detour-route repairs related to a nearby MnDOT project and whether MnDOT will perform detour repairs before or after taking traffic off the detour.
"They're still working towards the Nov. 15 completion date to get the road back to gravel West of 32," staff said of County Road 10. "The bridge rails were poured yesterday, so that bridge should be available for construction traffic and local access probably later this week."
