About this project
To improve safety at the intersection of Hwy 14 and Blue Earth County Road 56, MnDOT is constructing a Restricted Crossing U-Turn (PDF) (RCUT, also referred to as a J-Turn).
Traffic impacts
No detour is anticipated for Hwy 14 through traffic; motorists can expect lane restrictions and speed reductions. However, there will be phases of construction that restrict turning movements at the Hwy 14/CR 56 intersection.
Stage 1a
Stage 1b
Stage 2
Stage 3
Background
The intersection of Hwy 14 and Blue Earth County Road 56 is experiencing a high frequency of crashes, including fatal and serious injury crashes. Working closely with Blue Earth County and the City of Eagle Lake, MnDOT developed three design alternatives and collected community input on them in 2020. Feedback received was considered as the project partners selected an alternative for the intersection, which is a Restricted Crossing U-Turn (RCUT, also referred to as a J-Turn).
In the Fall of 2020, MnDOT installed additional pavement markings on CR 56 to encourage motorists to stop closer to Hwy 14, which improves visibility for CR 56 traffic as they either cross or turn onto Hwy 14. In the summer of 2022, MnDOT will construct a J-Turn at the Hwy 14/CR 56 intersection.
Safety benefits of a J-Turn
- J-turns are a type of Reduced Conflict Intersection (RCI) and are sometimes referred to as an RCUT.
- J-turns were designed to prevent serious injury and fatal high-speed right angle/"T-bone" crashes.
- J-turns reduce fatalities by over 70%