Highway 27 to be redesigned for the first time since 1948
by Karin L. Nauber
Highway 27 in the Osakis area will be seeing a major pavement rehabilitation, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) District 3 Project Engineer Eric Schiller. The majority of the project is in Todd County.
“The primary need for this project is addressing pavement condition. The last major pavement rehabilitation on Trunk Highway (TH) 27 between County State Aid Highway (CSAH) 82/51 and US 71 was last undertaken in 1948,” said Schiller.
The roadway has gone through several cycles of maintenance and preservation activities since then, most recently with resurfacing in 2009.
“The pavement is experiencing extensive transverse cracking, as well as longitudinal cracking. Preservation needs are increasing for the roadway and the remaining service life is less than three years,” noted Schiller.
According to Schiller, when the roadway structure gets to this point, the mill and overlay type projects have a diminishing return on investment and a bigger/deeper rehabilitation is needed. . .