A new $32 million interchange at Minnesota 36 and Manning Avenue will be a partial-cloverleaf design, Washington County officials said Tuesday.

The interchange, known for traffic congestion and crashes, will be rebuilt in 2021.

Washington County transportation officials worked with officials from Minnesota Department of Transportation, Grant, Lake Elmo, Oak Park Heights, Stillwater and Stillwater Township to come up with the final design, said Nathan Arnold, project manager for Washington County.

“We think we’ve come up with the best design for today’s traffic and into the future,” he said.

Construction should take about a year for the highway “to be functionally back open and for everyone to be able to use it as intended,” Arnold said. “We’re anticipating a minimal amount of impact to traffic on 36; Manning may be closed for some period of time.”

The project will address existing deficiencies of the intersection, including relocating the existing frontage to the north. The trail that runs along the east side of Manning will be extended across the new bridge over Minnesota 36, Arnold said.

The northeast corner of Minnesota 36 and Manning Avenue in Stillwater is the possible future site of a Lakeview Hospital campus.

Lakeview’s concept plan for the site — shared with city officials in 2017 — shows a 96-bed, three-story hospital; a same-day surgery center; senior housing; and a medical office building.

A major supermarket and convenience store is planned for the southeast corner of the intersection; Hy-Vee officials have expressed interest in the site. The 30 acres are in Stillwater Township and would have to be annexed into Stillwater before they could be developed.

Traffic on Minnesota 36 is up about 15 to 20 percent since the new St. Croix River bridge opened in August 2018, Arnold said.

The average daily traffic count on Minnesota 36 is 42,000, but that number is expected to increase to 49,000 by 2040 “and could potentially could rise to almost 60,000 with full development in the area,” he said.

The traffic count on Manning is expected to increase to 20,000 from 17,000 cars a day by 2040, Arnold said.

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Two bodies recovered from scene of fatal plane crash; dive teams continue search for third occupant The project received a $10 million Transportation Economic Development grant from the Minnesota Department of Transportation in December.

People can learn about the partial-cloverleaf interchange at an open house from 4 to 6 p.m. March 19, in Lower Level Room 16 of the Washington County Government Center in Stillwater. There will be no formal presentation.

For more information, see the project website at www.co.washington.mn.us/Manning36Interchange or contact Arnold at 651-430-4384 or Nathan.Arnold@co.washington.mn.us.