A project to resurface a stretch of Highway 169 in Blue Earth has been postponed a year, according to a Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) official.

It was set for completion in 2012, but the work is now scheduled to be done in 2013, says MnDOT project manager Rolin Sinn. The project involves Highway 169 (Grove Street) from just south of the I-90 interchange, to just north of the entrance to Riverside Cemetery.

The project still includes installing three roundabouts along the route; at the Fairgrounds Road, Leland Parkway and Seventh Street interchanges. Sinn said MnDOT’s policy is to replace traffic signal lights with the roundabouts in certain areas where speed reduction and safety are issues. He said three roundabouts have recently been installed in the New Prague area.

Sinn said the Highway 169 project was first announced in 2001 and originally set for 2008. The funding for it was switched to a project on Highway 60 from Worthington to Windom, however, and the 169 work was moved to 2012.