Willmar Wye-related roadwork could be done by July 4, BNSF rail line construction to begin in May

Apr. 12—WILLMAR — As winter has slipped away, a new Minnesota season is beginning — road construction. This also means the restarting of the Willmar Wye construction, specifically the conclusion of the road portion of the project.

The Wye, also known as the Willmar Rail Connector and Industrial Access Project, will create a railroad bypass west of Willmar that will allow trains to travel between the Morris and Marshal subdivision tracks without having to turn around in downtown Willmar.

Road work has included the realignment of U.S. Highway 12, reconstruction of state Highway 40, and new bridges on Highway 12 and Highway 40 that will carry motor vehicle traffic over the top of the new rail line. Two new roundabouts were also constructed on the realigned Highway 12. Road construction began in July 2019.

Work recommenced this year in late March, with crews first focusing on the new bridge on Highway 40. The bridge decks are going up, with concrete pouring expected to begin in mid-April.

Also tops on the construction to-do-list is completing the connections of the new Highway 12. Early winter weather in October 2020 pushed off the work until spring.

"We are hoping the week of the (April) 19th," said Paul Rasmussen, Minnesota Department of Transportation Willmar Wye Project Manager.

The connections mean hooking up the new Highway 12 to the old — at the Viking Coca-Cola Bottling Company on the east side and near Seventh Avenue Northwest on the west side.

As those connections are made, traffic will have to be detoured, but only for a brief period of time.

"It should only take a week," Rasmussen said.

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There will also be some work on the portion of old Highway 12, which was replaced with the new alignment. While most of the old highway will remain, it will be used mostly as connections for properties located along that portion of roadway.

"It will be used for access points," Rasmussen said.

This will also include creating the new 45th Avenue Northwest alignment and rail crossing. The realignment is needed because of where the new rail tracks will be laid. The updated crossing will include gates and lights, Rasmussen said.

Willmar Rail Connector and Industrial Access Project layout by West Central Tribune on Scribd

Along the new Highway 12, work will be wrapping up on the access road to the First Avenue industrial park area, which includes businesses such as Farm Service Elevator and Poultry and Livestock Supplies.

"They have to make that final connection," Rasmussen said, adding that the roundabout intersection with the access road and Highway 12 has been completed.

Weather permitting, Rasmussen hopes all the road work will be completed this summer.

"We should have everything done by the Fourth of July," Rasmussen said.

Of course, the road work is only part of the Willmar Wye. Construction will start on the new BNSF rail line by early May, Rasmussen said. This year will focus on building up the foundation for the tracks. The tracks will be laid in 2022, with completion scheduled for fall.

The project is estimated to cost around $47 million, and is a private-public partnership between BNSF Railway, Kandiyohi County, the city of Willmar, MnDOT and the Kandiyohi County and City of Willmar Economic Development Commission. The goal of the project is to reduce train traffic in downtown Willmar, decrease train noise and long waits at rail crossings and improve safety.

As construction ramps up, Rasmussen urges drivers to be on alert as crews will be moving around quite a bit in the next several weeks.

"Be careful out there," Rasmussen said. "Things will be changing rapidly."