BLUE EARTH — “The next section of Interstate 90 to be upgraded in Faribault County will be from Blue Earth east to the Wells exit,” Sam Parker of the Minnesota Department of Transportation told Faribault County commissioners Tuesday. “That is scheduled to take place in 2025.”

Parker, a principal planner for MnDOT, and Peter Harff, MnDOT’s District 7 assistant engineer, attended the board meeting via Zoom. They also updated commissioners on other state projects scheduled to take place within the county in upcoming years.

“U.S. Highway 169 from Winnebago to Vernon Center is scheduled for 2022,” Parker said. “We will repair the concrete joints and do a bituminous overlay.”

It is not the only stretch of Highway 169 scheduled for work in 2022.

“MnDOT is also scheduling Highway 169 from Blue Earth to Elmore for reconstruction in 2022,” Parker noted. “Then, in 2023, work will begin on Minnesota State Highway 22 from Wells to Mapleton.”

Harff explained COVID-19 has resulted in a 30 percent drop in revenue for MnDOT.

“When things were shut down, people did not travel so we lost gas tax revenue and vehicle tax money,” he said. “However, I do not think next year’s scheduled projects will be affected.

Harff gave the board a progress report on work currently being done on I-90.

“We are moving right along and are projecting a completion date of Oct. 17,” he said.

In other business, commissioners:

o Approved the purchase of a 24-inch mill attachment for the county’s Bobcat loader from Yeager Implement in the amount of $9,350.

o Received an update from GIS (Geographic Information System) coordinator Brandee Douglas. She explained there is a new zoning permit tab on the county’s website that will be an aid to people transferring property or applying for a building permit.

o Public Works director Mark Daly told the board that phase 3 of the Leland Parkway project is set to begin Aug. 10, and expected to last eight weeks.