The notorious bottleneck where Hwy. 36 meets Lake Elmo Avenue is finally getting torn up. Starting Monday, Washington County crews will begin remaking the clogged, crash-prone intersection, trading the traffic signal for an overpass and a set of new ramps. The two-season project is set up to keep both directions of Hwy. 36 open while workers put in bridges, new frontage roads and a trail underpass for people walking and biking. Officials say the overhaul is aimed squarely at cutting the steady run of rear-end crashes and the chronic backups that have long snarled this stretch of roadway.
According to The Star Tribune, first responders have been called to the junction more than 200 times in the past decade, and at least three of those crashes have been fatal. The paper reports that almost 57,000 vehicles pass through the intersection on a typical day. Washington County project manager Andrew Giesen told the paper that "traffic will move much more efficiently" once the signal is gone and Hwy. 36 is carried over the local road.
What crews will build
The plan calls for two bridges to carry Hwy. 36 over Lake Elmo Avenue, a new frontage road on the south side, rebuilt segments of the north frontage road and ramps shifted slightly west of the current intersection. Washington County's project page and related materials lay out staging that will push traffic onto temporary pavement and keep two lanes open in each direction for most of the work. Crews will also construct a trail under the new bridges so pedestrians, bicyclists and snowmobilers can cross without mixing with highway traffic.
Why officials chose an overpass
The overpass design emerged from a multi-year evaluation and public input process in which project leaders weighed more than 20 alternatives before settling on a grade-separated interchange. As reported by The Star Tribune, engineers found that many of the crashes were rear-end collisions triggered when high-speed highway traffic slowed or stopped for the signal, a pattern the overpass is meant to break. The Minnesota Department of Transportation and the cities of Lake Elmo and Grant were among the partners involved in shaping the design.
Traffic impacts and detours
Drivers should brace for major local changes. Access to and from Lake Elmo Avenue will be closed early in the project and stay closed while crews build the new bridges. The median at nearby Keats Avenue will also be blocked off to remove left turns at that location. The county's April project update notes that both directions of Hwy. 36 will remain open during construction by sharing the westbound pavement behind a temporary concrete barrier this season, with traffic returning to regular lanes next year. Detour routes are laid out in project materials, and the county has set up two on-site cameras so residents can keep an eye on progress.
Price tag and property moves
Project materials and the public engagement story map (project story map) peg the estimated cost in the low to mid tens of millions, with roughly $30 million in federal and state funding plus about $11.5 million programmed locally, for a total close to $43 million. Regional transportation documents describe a late 2025 budget adjustment that cleared the way for right-of-way purchases tied to the work, including property used by River Valley Church. Those changes are recorded in the Metropolitan Council's TIP modifications (TIP amendments).
How to stay updated
Project maps, staging diagrams and email sign-ups are available through the county's online materials, and the City of Lake Elmo has posted a notice about a May pre-construction open house for residents. See the city's open-house notice and the project's engagement pages for maps, detours and contact information. The county's project manager is listed on the public materials for anyone with direct questions.
The highway overhaul ranks as one of the largest safety and congestion projects planned for the east metro in recent years, so residents along the corridor can expect noise, detours and changing access patterns through the fall of 2027. Officials say the payoff will be a safer, smoother-running Hwy. 36 for the region when the dust finally settles.
