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MINNEAPOLIMEDIA NEWS | Highway 8 Closure Next Week Will Send Drivers Through Wisconsin Ahead of Osceola Bridge Replacement
Shoulder repairs will close a Shafer Township segment October 27–29, followed by a separate, longer bridge detour beginning in November.
SHAFER TOWNSHIP, MN (October 23, 2026). Drivers traveling between the Lindstrom area and Taylors Falls should prepare for a Highway 8 closure next week that will temporarily route through traffic across the St. Croix River into Wisconsin.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation announced October 22 that Highway 8 will close at 9 a.m. Tuesday, October 27, east of the Highway 8–Highway 95 roundabout to Lawrence Creek Road. The closure is scheduled to continue through Thursday, October 29, while maintenance crews repair the shoulder.
The posted bypass uses Highway 95 south, Highway 243 across the Osceola Bridge, Highway 35 north in Wisconsin and Highway 8 through Taylors Falls. Local properties will remain accessible during the work.
The maintenance closure precedes a larger change in regional travel. MnDOT says the Highway 8 improvements must be completed before the Osceola Bridge closes for replacement during the week of November 2. The agency had not specified the bridge closure’s exact date and time in its October 22 announcement.
Crews also plan separate pavement-marking changes in Taylors Falls to improve traffic flow when Highway 8 becomes the posted detour for the bridge project.
Two closures, with different routes and timelines
The October highway closure and November bridge closure should be treated as separate travel changes.
During the Highway 8 maintenance work, the detour uses the Osceola crossing. Once that bridge closes, the designated northern diversion will instead use the Highway 8 crossing at Taylors Falls. A southern alternate uses the Highway 36 St. Croix crossing.
MnDOT’s project schedule anticipates the Osceola Bridge closure continuing through fall 2027, while the broader construction project extends through fall 2028.
What the bridge project will change
Minnesota and Wisconsin are replacing the bridge, which was built in 1953, on its existing alignment. The approximately $25 million project also includes a shared-use path connecting Osceola Landing, the bridge and the village of Osceola.
The work is intended to address aging infrastructure and improve walking and bicycling connections across the river.
Drivers should check Minnesota 511 before departure and consult the Osceola Bridge project page as the November closure approaches. MnDOT cautions that construction impacts remain subject to weather and other conditions.
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