MnDOT Hosts Open House on Highway 371/210 Intersection Project in Baxter

The Minnesota Department of Transportation held an open house meeting Tuesday in Baxter to discuss an intersection improvement project for Highways 371 and 210. Over 40 people attended the meeting and got to provide their input on the upcoming project.

Some residents in attendance felt that a project like this is needed.

“We have to do something about the highway congestion, the accidents that happen at this intersection here, a lot of people know about,” said Baxter resident William Bollinger, “and hopefully working with MnDOT and them coming up with some good ideas for the transportation that they’re looking at, bypassing the railroad, all these intersections.”

The project is still a ways off from being started, let alone completed. Planning and design is expected to continue through 2027, with construction expected to start in 2028. Even though there is still a lot of time left, MnDOT wants to ensure that the public gets a chance to give their input every step of the way.

“We’re getting out really early on this one, we’re getting the design team out, interacting with folks who live here and run businesses here, trying to really understand the context,” said MnDOT Project Manager Eric Schiller. “We’re going to be working hard over the next year and developing alternatives that solve the needs that we’ve identified here. Today, it was really fun just to be able to get some sketching going on, really just let the public kind of work through and think through their ideas on how they’d solve and address those needs.”

These open house meetings are key for MnDOT, as hearing from people who will be directly affected by the project is incredibly valuable. Whether it concerns things like the nearby railroad, the high volume of traffic that goes through the intersection, or the number of businesses along the highways, MnDOT wants to hear from as many people as possible.

“That’s the goal as we want to make sure that we’re we’re interacting and that we’re getting participation,” added Schiller. “We want to hear from people. We want them to understand what we’re up against. Having everybody along and helping define the problem and be part of the solution, you know, that’s been critical.”

MnDOT expects to host another open house on this project this winter, where they hope to go over concept designs with the public. More information can be found on the MnDOT website.