DENNISON, Minn. – The Minnesota Department of Transportation will be converting the intersection of Highway 56 and Goodhue County Road 9 into a four-way stop on Sept. 21 as a way to reduce vehicle crashes.
On Monday, Sept. 21, the MnDOT sign shop will install signs for the new four-way stop, which include signs in advance of the intersection warning of the stop ahead as well as other temporary signs that will warn of the changes. On Tuesday, MnDOT maintenance crews will install raised medians at all four legs of the intersection to provide additional awareness to approaching motorists that the intersection requires a stop.
Traffic at the intersection was temporarily changed earlier this summer during a construction project on Highway 56 south of the intersection. A detour of Highway 56 forced vehicles to slow at the intersection because of the detour to the south.
Previously, Highway 56 had thru traffic and County Road 9 had stops. However, the intersection saw a spike in crashes in 2025. A short time later, MnDOT and Goodhue County implemented some immediate changes to help drivers better recognize and understand the intersection, which included:
- Larger sized stop signs on County Road 9 for enhanced visibility. “Cross Traffic Does Not Stop” signs were also installed to provide additional notice to County Road 9 drivers.
- STOP AHEAD and stop bars were repainted on eastbound and westbound CR 9 to provide enhanced pavement marking guidance to drivers.
- Transverse rumble strips were installed on eastbound and westbound County Road 9 to alert approaching drivers of the intersection.
- Vegetation was cleared in the southwest and southeast corners near Highway 56 and County Road 9 to further lengthen sightlines.
The crash details were analyzed and MnDOT led discussions with law enforcement, first responders and others to develop additional plans for changes to reduce crashes. The four-way stop was developed from these discussions.
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