2023 District 1 Construction Projects

DULUTH, Minn. – With Spring in the air MnDOT is getting ready for more construction projects to get underway in Northeast Minnesota in 2023.

They include roads and bridges, with six carryover projects that include work on I-35, I-535, and the Highway 53 interchange as well as bridge work on the Silver Creek Bridge.

16 new projects will kick off this year including pavement resurfacing on Highway 135, highway 23 near Gary-New Duluth as well as work on various roundabouts and culverts in the area.

Traffic volumes go up during the summer, so those with the Minnesota State Patrol say making safe driving choices is important for the safety of others.

“If you get stopped in a road construction zone and you expect a warning, that’s the wrong expectation. We’re here to change driver behavior and the way to change driver behavior is through citations and the need to take road construction zones when you’re slowing down and people safety seriously,” MN State Patrol Lieutenant, Jason Hanson says.

The Minnesota State Patrol and MnDOT say they cannot stress it enough how important it is to pay attention in these work areas.

“Just be really safe in work zones. When you see orange, slow down and pay attention. There’s higher crash rates in work zones, there’s a lot of rear end crashes. There’s workers literally working inches from the traffic lanes. We’re going to do our very best to keep work zones safe as we can but if everyone meets us halfway and is patient and drives safely through them and pays attention, we will have a safe summer,” Assistant District Engineer Program Delivery, Andy Johnson says.

People can expect single lane closures throughout the summer on I-35 along with other heavy traffic areas.

To see a full list of upcoming projects you can check out MnDOTs website.