The Minnesota Department of Transportation is giving drivers a heads up about delays on a bridge and highway in Little Falls. If you travel Highway 27 you may encounter delays on the bridge spanning the Mississippi River. As one section of the construction area opens another short segment of Highway 27 will close. The work starts Saturday and will continue until August.

This is what you can expect:

• All lanes of Highway 27 between Front Street and Lindbergh Drive, including the Highway 27 bridge spanning the Mississippi River, will open.
• After crews open the Highway 27 bridge, Highway 27 between Front Street and Fourth Street E will close. The short detour will direct motorists one block south along Front Street, First Avenue SE and Fourth Street SE.
• Commercial trucks must continue to use the truck detour along Highway 10 and County Road 214.
• All lanes of Highway 27 between Front Street and Fourth Street E will open in August

The closure and short detour are part of a project that will improve Highway 27 and other infrastructure through downtown Little Falls in 2019. All businesses in downtown Little Falls will remain open and accessible throughout the project, although routes will occasionally change.

The project will reconstruct or resurface two miles of Highway 27 between 15^th Street SW and Ninth Street, install new underground utilities, curb, gutter and sidewalk, improve signals, add new bike lanes through downtown Little Falls and improve short segments of local roads when it’s complete.