Albertville Interchange Clears MnDOT Hurdle, Bids Accepted

The Minneosta Department of Transportation gave its final blessing to the Interstate 94 interchange project here in Albertville, accepting all six bids submitted by regional contractors for this year's construction season.

"We were waiting for this final approval," said Mayor Mark Meehan. "We got it. It's a go."

Of the bids, it appears Lakeville-based Eureka Construction, Inc., will come in with the lowest proposal, bulding the new collector ramp and interchange at County Road 37 and Interstate 94 for about $6.65 million. Shafer Contracting and Albertville-based Fehn Companies both came in at about 6.72 million, with the other three bids considerably higher, at more than $7 million.

The low bid is about 11 percent less than the city's original estimate of $7.45 million for the project.

"I would expect, with the council awarding the project on the 2nd, that construction could begin at the beginning of May with completion scheduled in November," said Adam Nafstad, Engineer.

The city and county, along with Simon Properties–who manages the Albertville Premium Outlets, the construction could be finished by Black Friday.

The interchange project, which uses a system of new ramps and collector roads on the north side of Interstate 94 to alleviate pressure on County Road 37 on the south side (in Albertville).