The public is invited to the Highway 61 public meeting by the city of Hastings and the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MNDOT) from 5-7 p.m. Nov. 18 at the Hastings City Hall.
MNDOT officials will present briefly on the two-year project currently scheduled to run from 2027-2029 along Highway 61 from Third Street all the way to 36th Street. The majority of the work on the project is currently scheduled for 2028.
The project was originally scheduled for 2027 but pushed back due to ongoing coordination with contractors and other MNDOT programming, according to Bryant Ficek, south area manager with MnDOT.
After the presentation the meeting will be an open house where residents can have their questions answered and concerns heard about the upcoming project to one of the major arteries within the city.
The project includes the creation of two new roundabouts at Highway 316 and 36th Street, along with a new traffic signal at 18th Street and a number of accessibility improvements, drainage and utility upgrades. The goal is to both update the road, sections of which are 100 years old, as well as improve safety along the route which has a history of right-angle or “T-bone” crashes, according Ficek at the Highway 61 Business meeting last month.
MNDOT and city officials met with business leaders on Oct. 29 to discuss how the project would affect local businesses along the corridor.
At the meeting, Ficek described “striking a balance” between the dual tensions of the project as serving the highway and serving the community. On one hand, keeping traffic moving is important. On the other, making businesses still accessible is key to their survival.
At that meeting, Ficek spoke to how parts of the project are still not finalized, underscoring the importance of business and community input.
Residents can opt to receive updates from MNDOT on this project by subscribing to email updates on the MNDOT project page at https://www.dot.state.mn.us/metro/projects/hwy61hastings/