By Jo McMullen / KVSC reporter

A large portion Highway 23 from Richmond to Paynesville will be closed to traffic starting Monday as work continues on significant improvements to the heavily traveled highway.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation has named the project the ‘North Gap’ and it’s part of a multi-year upgrade to expand nine additional miles of the highway to four lanes. Highway 23 will be closed from Stearns County Road 33 in Paynesville to Stearns County Road 12, also known as Maine Street, in Richmond. A detour will be in place until November, then the area will open for a few months, and they will close the highway again next spring to finish the project in 2023.

If you live, work or visit people in this area there will be designated access points in a busy work zone, that may have flaggers, gravel surfaces, heavy equipment and a pilot car.

The $41.75 million dollar project will improve safety and traffic flow for drivers and freight movement. MnDOT has a program where you can sign up for email and text updates on the project.