The completion of the new Highway 52/Goodhue County Road 9 interchange seven miles south of Cannon Falls will be marked with a celebration event at 1 p.m. Friday at the nearby Urland Lutheran Church, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

The public event at the Urland Lutheran Church, 6940 County 9 Blvd., will also make note of the projects in the past decade or so along the Highway 52 corridor between Cannon Falls and Rochester. That corridor has seen an overall decline of 200 crashes when comparing the past five years with the previous five years. Additionally, during that same period, there were five fewer fatal crashes (15 vs. 10) and nine fewer serious injury crashes (26 vs. 17).

Earlier this year, a new $14.3 million interchange project was completed in Cannon Falls. That work includes new access roads to the nearby businesses and removed the two remaining stop lights between Rochester and St. Paul on Highway 52.

Federal, state and local elected officials, MnDOT personnel, as well as motorists who use the new interchange have been invited to give some brief words Friday at the event on the latest safety improvement along Highway 52.

Prior to the interchange’s construction, the intersection of Highway 52 and Goodhue County Road 9 was the scene of 71 crashes, including five that were fatal and seven that involved serious injuries, from 2004-2013.

With the construction of this new $6.72 million quadrant interchange by contractor Mathiowetz Construction of Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, MnDOT used the design-build process with its partners to enhance the safety of an efficient and effective transportation system.