Highway 8 in Shafer Township to close for maintenance work Oct. 27-29

Motorists will encounter a full closure of Highway 8 in Shafer township Oct. 27-29 to allow maintenance crews to repair the road shoulder, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

Beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, Highway 8 will be closed east of the Highway 8/Highway 95 roundabout to Lawrence Creek Road through Thursday, Oct. 29. Motorists should use Highway 95 south, Highway 243, Highway 35 north in Wisconsin and Highway 8 through Taylors Falls to bypass the closure. Local properties will remain accessible during this work.

Separately, at a future date, crews will also repaint the pavement markings on Highway 8 in Taylors Falls to improve traffic flow during the one-year Highway 243 Osceola Bridge closure. Highway 8 will be the posted detour route for that project.

These Highway 8 improvements must be completed before the Osceola Bridge closes for reconstruction during the week of Nov. 2.  We will announce the time and date of the bridge closure in the coming days.

MnDOT and WisDOT are partnering to replace the Highway 243 Osceola Bridge over the St. Croix River to maintain a reliable connection between Washington and Chisago counties in Minnesota and the village of Osceola in Polk County, Wisconsin. The current bridge, built in 1953, will be replaced with a new bridge in the same location. The project will also include a new pedestrian and bicycle path linking Osceola Landing to the village of Osceola. Construction is anticipated to be completed in fall 2028.

For more information, visit the project webpage at mndot.gov/metro/projects/hwy243osceola.

For updated road condition information, call 511 or visit www.511mn.org.