Otter Tail County picks designer for Highway 128 reconstruction project

Otter Tail County has moved Highway 128 reconstruction into the design phase, putting a 2028 overhaul of the corridor between Trunk Highway 78 and County State Aid Highway 55 on the calendar for travelers in Ottertail and Girard townships.

The project covers a stretch about 4 miles south of the City of Ottertail and is intended to rebuild and selectively widen the roadway. County planning documents say the work is aimed at improving safety, capacity and durability on a route that also serves bicycles, pedestrians and seasonal traffic increases.

Design plans call for six-foot paved shoulders, stronger pavement built for 10-ton axle weights, grade adjustments to reduce seasonal high-water impacts, updated signing and striping, and a more forgiving clear zone. Those changes are meant to address the kinds of road conditions that can make narrow rural highways more difficult to drive, especially when spring runoff or heavy traffic pushes the roadway beyond its original design.

The county’s request for proposals says the work will rely on both federal and local funding, with construction scheduled for 2028. The design timeline also lays out a public open house for October 2026 and a desired bid opening in December 2027, giving residents a window into when plans should become public and when visible work could start taking shape. A county project page updated March 27, 2026, says the schedule depends on funding availability.

That uncertainty matters because Highway 128 is only one piece of Otter Tail County’s larger road network. County road officials say the county oversees 1,067 miles of County State Aid Highways and 74 bridges, while the Highway Department is managing multiple road and bridge projects across the county this year. County transportation planning has also tied 2026 roadwork to a long-range 2050 transportation plan, showing that the Highway 128 rebuild is part of a wider effort to keep rural roads functional, safe and durable for the long term.

For residents who use the corridor now, the key dates are the 2026 open house, the 2027 bid opening and a 2028 construction window. Until then, the newly selected designer will shape the plans that determine how much disruption the reconstruction brings and how quickly the county can turn one of its more important rural connectors into a safer, stronger roadway.