MNDoT announces KLGR-area projects for this summer - including removal of historic bridge near Morton

The 1927 riveted Camelback bridge near Morton, part of the old Highway 19/71, is set to be removed later this year.

A bridge built in 1927 near Morton is set to be removed as part of the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s projects for the KLGR-area this summer. The bridge over Sulphur Lake, about four miles southwest of Morton, was part of the original Highway 19 that connected Morton with Redwood Falls.

The 169-foot bridge has a 117-foot riveted Camelback through-truss main span, a type unusual in Minnesota. The bridge has been closed to vehicular traffic since September 2010, but continues to carry pedestrians, bicycles, motorcycles, ATVs, and snowmobiles. Removal is set for September through November, at an estimated cost of removal of $980,000.

In other projects set for this summer, MNDoT announced a $772,000 plan to repair drainage and create a pond on Highway 19 about a mile east of Morton, set to begin in May and end in June. Also planned, a $49,000 project to repair drainage and stabilize slopes on Highway 19 about 2.8 miles east of Morton.

For Highway 71, MNDoT plans two projects in KLGR-area: starting in May south of Sanborn, crews will replace a bridge over the Cottonwood River at a cost of about $4.4 million. Up near Olivia, MNDoT will install gates and flashing lights at railroad crossings, at a cost of slightly over a quarter-million dollars.