Portion of County Road 81 in Maple Grove Closed Indefinitely

A partial reopening of County Road 81 (Bottineau Boulevard) in on May 24 was short lived.

Due to the “continued instability of the stockpile between the two directions of County Road 81,” the city of Maple Grove resident e-newsletter said the Minnesota Department of Transportation and Highway 610 project coordinator decided to reclose County Road 81 between Fernbrook Lane and Elm Creek Boulevard until further notice.

A portion of County Road 81, between 93rd Avenue North (County Road 30) to Fernbrook Lane was completely shutdown part of Monday, May 23 after heavy weekend rainfall caused a mudslide near the site of the Highway 610 project. It was later partially reopened to one lane of traffic in either direction.

The initial mudslide reported on May 23 happened in an area along County Road 81 that is being used as a temporary storage area for “earthen material” for future use, according to Maple Grove Public Works Director Ken Ashfeld. Heavy rains caused “slope failure” in the area, resulting in work by contractors for the Highway 610 project to “reestablish” and “stabilize” the slope.

“At this time we do not know when the roadway will be open, but the contractor will be working to reopen the roadway as soon as possible,” the city said in its e-newsletter May 24.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation stated roadway would be closed starting at 5:30 p.m. May 24 “until cleanup is complete.”

 The official eastbound detour, according to Mn/DOT is:

* Westbound:  West on County Road 30 to Fernbrook Lane and north to County Road 81

* Eastbound:  South on Fernbrook Lane to County Road 30 and east to County Road 81

Motorists are advised to possibly use Maple Grove Parkway as an alternate to the official detour.