MNDot to study two Blue Earth County intersection to determine safety of removing lighting

MANKATO, Minn. (KEYC) - The Minnesota Department of Transportation will evaluate the potential removal of intersection lighting at two intersection in Blue Earth County.

Those two intersections are Highway 169 and Blue Earth County State Aid Highway 13 near Garden City, which was installed in 1991, and Highway 14 and Blue Earth County State Aid Highway 86 near Eagle Lake, which was installed in 1997.

MnDOT says these systems have reached the end of their useful life and need replacement. In a fiscally constrained environment with numerous competing needs, neither MnDOT nor Blue Earth County can sustain these systems if they were replaced.

These intersections do not meet MnDOT’s criteria established for at-grade intersection lighting and both have maintained a strong safety record: only three crashes at the Highway 169 and Blue Earth County State Aid Highway 13 intersection, and only four crashes at the Highway 14 and Blue County State Aid Highway 86 intersection between 2015-2024.

MnDOT will launch a six-month deactivation study the week of March 16, 2026, during which time the lighting systems will be turned off. MnDOT will evaluate both intersections’ operations and will monitor crash data for any safety impacts. If the study shows no significant operational or safety impacts, MnDOT will proceed with the removal of the two lighting systems. This evaluation process will be similar to the recent successful lighting deactivation study at Highway 68 and Blue Earth County Road 45 south of Courtland.

Comments from the public during the deactivation study are welcome and can be made by calling MnDOT at 507-304-6100.

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