Minnesota Department of Transportation

511 Travel Info

Hwy 10, 29 and 71—Wadena

Wadena and Otter Tail counties

Future work, traffic plans

The Wadena project will take three construction seasons to complete from June 2025 to August 2027.

Crews will begin to prepare the 2026 work zone in mid-April along Hwy 10. Like 2025, you can expect a lot of changes as you navigate multiple work zones over the summer. There will be detours, and access to local roads and adjacent connections may change.

Work by year map

Map of work areas for each year - orange lines are 2026, cyan lines are 2026, dark blue lines are 2027 work.
MnDOT will improve these areas on Hwy 10, 29 and 71. Select map to enlarge.

Schedule at a glance

All information is tentative and subject to change by contractor or MnDOT.

Dates

Map color

Construct

Impacts

April-late October 2026

 Cyan 2026 work areas map

Hwy 10

  • West of Hwy 71: Excavate and build up road
    materials; replace pipes; construct road,
    medians and entrances, J-turn at Co. Rd. 75
    and second half of roundabout at hospital (Mid- late April to late October)
  • East of Hwy 71: Excavate and build-up road
    materials; construct segments of road,
    entrances, half of roundabout at Harry Rich
    Dr., and box culverts at Union Creek and
    Whiskey Creek (Mid- late April to late October)

Hwy 71 south of Hwy 10

  • Franklin Ave. S to Aldrich Ave. S: Resurface
    the road and update sidewalks and approaches;
    storm sewer work; update or replace signals at
    Hwy 29, Bryant Ave. S, Aldrich Ave. (35 consecutive days within June 22-Sept. 8)

Hwy 29

  • Hwy 71 to west limits of Wadena: Resurface
    road; update/add sidewalk; storm sewer work (40 consecutive days within June 22-Sept. 8)

Hwy 10, Hwy 71, Hwy 29

Open one lane each way:

  • Narrow lanes, lane shifts, flaggers
  • Access maintained and open to businesses and residents along the project; however, expect changes and gravel surfaces

Detours are neccessary at times to complete work:

Hwy 10

  • Hwy 10 closed between Co. Rd. 4 and Harry Rich Dr. to excavate deep and replace poor soils and install Union Creek pipe. Detour via Co. Rd. 4 and Harry Rich Dr. (May-June for about five weeks)
  • Hwy 10 closed between Co. Rd. 4 in Wadena and Oink Joint Rd. to replace Whiskey Creek pipe and other underground work. Detour via Co. Rd. 4 and Co. Rd. 23 to Verndale (June-July for about six weeks)
  • Co. Rd. 75 access closed south of Hwy 10 to reconstruct connection and complete J-turn. Detour via Hwy 10, Hwy 71 and Hwy 29 in Wadena (about three weeks )

April-August 2027

 Dark blue

2027 work areas map

Hwy 10 - east of Co. Rd. 20 to Oink Joint Rd.

  • Construct road, medians and entrances, includes roundabout at Harry Rich Rd.
  • Restripe urban portion to four lane from Co. Rd. 20 to Co. Rd. 4
  • Wrap up entire project

Hwy 10

Open one lane, each way

  • Narrow lanes, lane shifts, flaggers
  • No detours at this time

June-November 2025

Orange

COMPLETE

2025 work areas map (PNG)

  • Constructed half of new Hwy 10 four-lane west of Hwy 71
  • Reconstructed and improved Hwy 71 north of Hwy 10 with a new road surface, storm sewer and city utilities, turn lanes and sidewalks/trail

Complete