Stearns County Road Updates Promise Smoother Winter Travel

Stearns County road projects are wrapping up.  Stearns County Commissioner Steve Notch joined me on WJON.  He says County Road 2 south of Cold Spring is getting close to completion and is close to being ready for the winter.  More work will need to be done in the spring.

Country Road 157

Road work on County Road 157 in the city limits of Albany from the 4-way stop to the western limits continues.  Notch says there has been some issues with the old Soo Line Trestel Bridge.  He says the county is looking to get approval to take it down so they can widen the road to avoid bottle necks in the winter.  Notch says the trestle bridge hasn't been used for close to 30 years but it may be of historical significance.  He says if it is determined to be of historical significance, it will need to be taken down piece by piece, which will take longer and cost more money.  It would also need to be set up somewhere else.  Notch says they've been waiting for more than 60 days for an answer on its historical significance.  He says county commissioners have reached out to Representative Emmer and Senator Klobuchar to see if they can help speed the process on the bridge decision.

Work in St. Joe

The County Road 75 project is St. Joseph is mostly done.  Notch says the left turn lanes going onto County Road 133 are finished and the roundabout on 133 is also done.  He says it is a nice improvement for that area.  Notch says the 2 left turn lanes help eliminate the bottle neck that often happened at that intersection.  He indicates the road is open and any final work on the road will be completed next year.

Projects in 2026

County road projects in 2026 include County Road 12, which is from St. Martin west toward New Munich.  Notch says a portion of that will be completely redone next year.  County Road 157 from Freeport to Albany (which is 6 miles) will be started in 2026.  Notch says it won't likely get finished next year.  He says a ground nesting bird may delay the project.  Due to nesting bird no work can be done on the project from May 12 to August 1.

The Rest of the Discussion

Steve and I also discussed potential challenges due to the Federal Government shutdown, updates on the movement of the justice center and his idea for the current County Justice center area in downtown St. Cloud.

If you'd like to listen to my conversation with Stearns County Commissioner Steve Notch, click below.