The Odd Reason Part Of This Busy Highway Was Closed In Minnesota

Living here in Minnesota, we're no strangers to seeing parts of our roads and highways closed. But this time, it wasn't a scheduled road construction project that closed part of this busy highway.

When it comes to roads and highways, the Land of 10,000 Lakes is no lightweight. In fact, our fair state has some of the most roads and highways of any state in the country. According to the Minnesota Legislature website, there are about 135,000 miles of highways that traverse the North Star State.

Here's how that total breaks down:

• Interstate and state trunk highways - 11,897 miles
• County state-aid highways and county highways - 45,211 miles
• City streets - 18,975 miles
• Town roads - 54,785 miles
• Other roads (state and US Forest roads, Indian reservation roads, roads in unorganized townships) - 4,423 miles
• Total street/road/highway mileage in Minnesota: 135,000 miles

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And, the North Star State is no slouch when it comes to keeping up all those miles of roads and highways, either. According to the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), its crews completed or advanced nearly 240 road and bridge projects across the state during the 2024 construction season.

However, a section of Highway 61 was just closed recently, and it wasn't part of a planned construction project. It *was* due to Mother Nature, but not in the usual way highways are closed during big snowstorms in the winter.

SEE ALSO: Here Are the Deadliest Highways in Minnesota

An area of the southbound lanes of Highway 61 located 2 miles south of County Road 15 at Homer, Minnesota were closed because of a... running spring? Yep. According to a post on the MnDOT Southeast Minnesota Facebook page, running water from a nearby spring was backing up on the southbound lanes of the highway and then refreezing:

Be alert for a right lane closure on Hwy 61 southbound 2 miles south of County Road 15 at Homer. A running spring's water is spilling onto the road and freezing. The lane closure will be overnight. Crews will work Monday morning in the ditch to keep the water off the road. Check 511mn.org for updates.

That's a new one I've not heard of before! Checking the official 511 Minnesota traffic site, it appears that the crews have removed the ice that was causing the problem because as of noon on Monday, Jan. 27, no incident or lane closure is noted.

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