Eastbound I-90 through Austin to close March 26-29

Thanks for the heads up, I plan on detouring off the Detour if I run that way. As long as I can find some 9 and 10 ton axle weight roads. Nightime won't be so bad since I-90 is just about deserted unless its summer. I had to mess with a detour on MN 60 a few months back that sent me like 40 miles out of route. There will be a lot of confused people going slow.

WIth as rough as I-90 is becoming in some spots, you're almost better off on some of the backroads. Between Albert Lea and Luvurne you may want to keep a chairopractor (sp?) in the cab with you.

 

Hey now...
Austin, MN is a place very near and dear to me!!! (seeing as I live here)

It's the home of Hormel and SPAM.
And the Hormel Institute, in conjunction with Mayo Health Systems and the University of Minnesota does lots of cancer research here!

Austin is also the city with the most on/off ramps of any city on I-90 between Chicago and Seattle... There is a bit of trivia you didn't need to know!

I'll give you the breakdown of the detour.

Eastbound from Albert Lea
You must proceed north on Hwy 218 for 15 miles to Blooming Prairie. 218 is BRAND NEW on that section, so it'll be a nice smooth ride for you! But if you're going up that way, pay close attention to the speed signs. If you're not paying attention they'll change on you and you'll get in a trap. From there you go East on Hwy 30 for about 12 miles to Hayfield. You'll hit Hwy 56 on the Western edge of Hayfield so you wont have to worry about going through town. There is a decent little truck stop there on the corner. A&W and a little bit of space if you need to park. South on Hwy 56... Good Lord. Make sure your suspension is bolted on... That road is a piece of crap. Also, be careful when driving through the next town of Brownsdale, MN. There is a speed trap on the south side. There is a large gap from where the town kinda ends to where the 55mph speed zone is. They get people left and right now accelerate to 55 before the sign. And they're not afraid to bust you. Then I-90 is only about 5 miles south of Brownsdale.



You can drive through Austin too. The main roads are big enough for trucks to drive on... (we drive on them everyday for class) I can give easy directions if anyone wants. It might be a little more of a pain in the ###, but it's shorter then 40 miles.

If you're hauling to or from Hormel going or coming East Bound, then I feel for you!

Oh yeah, I also remembered a shorter route if you still want to bypass Austin, but dont want to drive all the way to Blooming Prairie.

Heading Eastbound again
Go 218 North to I believe it's Hwy or County Road 2. There will be a red building on the West side of hwy 218 called "Lansing Corners" it used to be a supper club. Anyway, you can take CR2 East from Lansing straight to Brownsdale. 2 was repaved a few years ago and is a pretty nice road.


But again, if you have any questions on the directions or the 'short cut' just lemme know!!!

 

I'll head up there tomorrow to see if there are any axle limits on CR2, since we are in a spring thaw restriction.

 

going down 35 to Clear Lake then back up 218 will get you on the other side of the construction... But that's a loooooong detour.
65 wouldn't be too bad, but taking CR 2 is only about 5 miles north of I-90.

Like I said, I'll check the roads for Spring Thaw restrictions tomorrow.

 

Hwy 14 is a rough road also between Tracy, MN and the MN/SD stae line. OY!!!! Also Hwy 14 is closed between Florence and Tyler whis is Weast of the Hwy 23 and Hwy 14 intersection. Its underwater. The last time I went through there was on Thurs. Water was up to the bottom of the tire rims. Bright side was that it washed the dirt and grime off the bottom.Darn postings.