MANKATO, MN — Drivers frustrated by repeated closures on Highway 22 north of Mankato may not have to wait much longer. MnDOT says the road should reopen by Nov. 1, with traffic expected to return to the upgraded corridor before winter arrives.
The current project is a two-year, $37 million effort that first closed the highway in April 2025. The road reopened for the winter months, then shut down again this spring as construction resumed.
That schedule has made the route feel especially disruptive to motorists, even if the longest continuous closure has been much shorter than some locals jokingly claim. The work is part of a series of improvements aimed at making the corridor safer and easier to travel.
Why the highway feels closed so often around Mankato
Highway 22 has seen a steady stream of construction near Mankato in recent years, and each project has added to the sense that the road is always under some kind of restriction. In 2024, a roundabout was built at the intersection with Augusta Drive on Mankato’s north side.
A year earlier, the highway was detoured on St. Peter’s south side for five months so crews could improve the Highway 169 intersection. Those closures were smaller in scale than the current work, but they still affected traffic across the region.
Other segments have also been rebuilt in the last dozen years, including the stretch from Mapleton to Mankato in 2017-18 and the section between Mapleton and Wells about three years ago. Within Mankato, roundabouts were added at Madison Avenue and Adams Street in 2014.
What the current Highway 22 project is changing
The latest work on Highway 22 north of Mankato is intended to leave drivers with a safer and more modern roadway. MnDOT says the completed route will include a new roundabout near Kasota, a safer intersection at North Riverfront Drive and Blue Earth County Road 57, and better traffic flow features.
Those changes also include new passing lanes, dedicated left-turn lanes, longer right-turn lanes and improved lighting. The upgrades are meant to address both safety and congestion on a 49-mile stretch that has seen repeated reconstruction.
While the construction has been inconvenient, the roadway has reopened in better condition after each major project. That has been MnDOT’s main argument for why the disruptions are worth the long-term result.
Veterans Memorial Bridge work is on the same timeline
The Highway 22 reopening is expected around the same time as the Veterans Memorial Bridge between Mankato and North Mankato. MnDOT has said the bridge should also be ready by early November, giving local drivers two major improvements in the same window.
Mankato City Manager Susan Arntz recently told the City Council that the bridge project is moving ahead well. She said Ames Construction has done an “exceptional job” of staying on schedule and added that the work is ahead of plan.
Arntz also said special commemorative medallions designed to honor military veterans should be installed on the bridge railings by mid- to late October. Those decorative pieces are one of the final steps before the bridge can reopen.
Why some expect an earlier reopening
Even though MnDOT is pointing to Nov. 1, there is some reason to think both projects could finish a few days ahead of schedule. The City of Mankato’s update on the bridge work suggested the timeline is moving faster than expected.
That kind of progress is not unusual on construction projects, especially when crews avoid major weather problems. The Highway 22 supervisor has said the road should be open before winter, which leaves some room for an earlier finish if conditions stay favorable.
For drivers, even a short early reopening would matter. The route has been one of the most disruptive pieces of local infrastructure work in the area, and getting it back in service would ease one more major detour.
What a reopened Highway 22 will mean for local drivers
When the project is complete, travelers between Mankato and St. Peter should find a much different drive than the one they have had to navigate through the construction season. MnDOT says the new roadway will be safer and more efficient than the old setup.
That includes better intersections, improved lighting and lane changes designed to reduce confusion and conflict points. The changes are aimed at making the highway more reliable for daily travel as well as longer trips through the region.
For people who have had to rely on detours around Mankato, the reopening should mark the end of a long stretch of interruptions. After years of work on different parts of Highway 22, the next milestone appears to be just weeks away.
