Construction on Highway 251 is scheduled to start Monday, weather permitting.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation reported that detours will be set up in two stages.  Stage one starts Monday as Highway 251 through traffic and traffic to Hollandale will be detoured to U.S. Highway 218 north to Freeborn County Road 35, then west to Freeborn County Road 30 and then south to Highway 251.  Stage two will feature a detour north on Freeborn County Road 30 to Freeborn County Road 35, then west to Interstate 35 and then south to Highway 251.  

MnDOT went on to report that there will be single lane traffic on the Highway 251 bridge over I-35, and the Freeborn County Road 26 detour during Stage two south of Highway 251 will be from County Road 26 south to Freeborn County Road 25, then west to Freeborn County Road 45, north to I-35 North, then north to Freeborn County Road 35 and finally east to County Road 26 South.  

Culverts that cross under the highway are being replaced, requiring construction crews to dig up the road. Work is expected to continue through October and people will still have access to their businesses and homes along the highway.

MnDOT stated that the project will resurface approximately 16.7 miles of Highway 251 from Interstate 35 east to Highway 218, mostly in Freeborn County, with a small portion of Mower County included. Approach panels will be replaced on the bridge over I-35. Additionally, culvert and pipes will be replaced along the route.