MnDOT

The third year of the Hwy. 52/I-90 interchange project got started on Wednesday. It’s scheduled to be the final year of the $27.5 million project.

Year three of the project will see the completion of a flyover ramp, new westbound overpass and new on and off ramps at the busy interchange.

MnDOT indicates the major roads in the Rochester area are completely covered with ice and compacted snow.

As we say goodbye to an aging structure, excitement builds around the new bridge options. Will it be the tied-arch or cable-stayed design?

Preliminary snowfall reports indicate more than a foot of snow fell in Rochester, however most of those reports were submitted on Sunday and do not account for the additional snow that fell Sunday night into Monday morning.

The storm system has dropped in excess of 20 inches of snow in southeastern Minnesota.

As of noon on Sunday, some areas of Rochester are reporting more than a foot of accumulation.

MnDOT will close I-35 southbound at Albert Lea as Iowa shuts down the highway. A no travel advisory is now in effect across southeast Minnesota.

Officials are asking motorists to slow down, be alert and watch for emergency responders.

Across Minnesota, seven other plows earned clever and very Minnesotan names this year, from Oh, For Sleet’s Sake to Sled Zeppelin.