By Tom Hintgen

Otter Tail County Correspondent

Otter Tail County Engineer Krysten Foster provided a highway department update to county commissioners on Sept. 24. 

The County Highway Department is nearing the end of the 2024 construction season pending the completion of the Bluffton Township project in northeastern Otter Tail County.

The Highway 47 single T-curves reconstruction project (southwest of Battle Lake) is substantially complete and reopen for harvest season traffic.

A majority of the seal coat contract is striped with a few crosswalks and turn arrows to finish in Otter Tail County.

Highway 24 (From Highway 59 in Erhard to Highway 3) resurfacing is nearing completion.

The Highway 35 (Underwood to Highway 18) patch will be repaved before the winter.

“Our warm weather maintenance is winding down,” Foster said, “with operations focused on shouldering and mowing.”

Sept. 25 was the scheduled bid opening for the new Perham highway garage.

Otter Tail County is larger in size than the state of Rhode Island and paved roads total 1,062 miles. This keeps the county highway department very busy.

“We often mention that the backbone of our highway system in Otter Tail County requires lots of financial investment,” Foster said.

County roadway funding comes from county taxpayers through the annual levy, $20 license tab fees and a half cent sales tax in Otter Tail County. Additional road money comes from the state and federal government which has been limited in recent years.