County Road 42 Is Going to Four Lanes
TLDR
The State, the County, and the City are all working on a plan to widen County Road 42 to four lanes between Highway 52 and Hastings.
Highway 55 will be rerouted onto the new County Road 42 corridor.
The Highway 52 / County Road 42 interchange will be rebuilt — possibly with a cloverleaf-style design.
Final design hasn't started. Construction expected within 10 years.
If you've driven Highway 42 east of Highway 52 in Rosemount, you know it's a two-lane country road with not much shoulder, even though it carries a surprising amount of traffic. That's about to change. And Tuesday night, Rosemount's Public Works Director confirmed for residents that yes, this is real, and yes, it's coming.
How It Came Up
During public comment on the new Gooden warehouse approval, two residents who live south of County Road 42 stood up and asked the same basic question: what's happening with this road? They'd been to the public meetings. They knew something was up. They wanted to know whether the new warehouse setbacks would hold up if 42 becomes a four-lane highway, and whether their own properties might be affected.
The Public Works Director gave them a clear answer. He confirmed the long-term vision is for County Road 42 to "become essentially the new Highway 55."
The Plan
Here's what's been recommended in Part 1 of the joint MnDOT, Dakota County, and Rosemount study, which wrapped in 2025:
Realign Highway 55 onto County Road 42. The existing 55 alignment between Highway 52 and around Fahey Avenue would be replaced. Traffic gets rerouted onto a widened 42.
Expand County Road 42 to four lanes. Between Highway 52 and east of Fahey Avenue, the road becomes a four-lane divided highway.
Rebuild the Highway 52 / 42 interchange. New southwest and southeast loop ramps. The current 52/55 interchange and bridge would be removed.
Possibly close part of Highway 55 at the existing 55/52 interchange.
Shift Highway 52 west to make room for a new connection to Courthouse Boulevard.
The point of all of this: the existing Highway 55 alignment near 52 is a known safety problem, and the bridge there would cost about $19 million to replace. The state and county would rather invest in the corridor that has more long-term value — County Road 42.
The Timeline
Final design hasn't started yet. Part 2 of the corridor study is anticipated to wrap in 2027, and that's when the public will get more chances to weigh in on specific design choices. Construction is expected sometime in the next decade.
That timeline matters for nearby property owners. If you live or own land along the corridor — especially between Highway 52 and Hastings — there's still time to be part of the conversation when the Part 2 study opens for public engagement.
Will This Take My Property?
That was the question one resident asked Tuesday. The Public Works Director said the city wouldn't advocate for shifting the alignment to one side or the other — designers would likely use retaining walls and stay roughly within the existing right-of-way. But again, no detailed engineering has happened yet, so it's too early to give a definitive answer.
Why This Matters
This isn't just about one road. The Highway 52 / County Road 42 corner is becoming one of the busiest industrial nodes in Dakota County. FedEx is open. Home Depot's distribution center is open. The Gooden warehouse just got approved. The Meta data center is going operational later this year. All of those facilities mean trucks. A lot of trucks.
If 42 stays two lanes, that traffic crashes into existing residents and existing crash patterns. If 42 expands to four lanes with a redesigned interchange, the corridor can handle the growth. The question for residents is what the design specifically looks like — and whether it preserves the access and quality of life people expect.
The Bottom Line
The County Road 42 four-lane plan is real, it's been studied for two-plus years, and it's coming. It's not happening tomorrow. Final design is still ahead. But this is the moment for residents to start paying attention to the Part 2 corridor study and make sure their voices are heard before construction begins.
The next public engagement opportunities will be announced through MnDOT and Dakota County as Part 2 progresses through 2027. The city also tracks active projects on its Construction Updates page.
FAQ
Is this actually approved or just being studied?
Part 1 of the study made formal recommendations. Part 2, expected to wrap in 2027, will continue refining those recommendations and start moving toward final design.
Will I lose part of my property?
No detailed design has been done yet. The city's stated preference is for designs that stay within the existing right-of-way using retaining walls, but final answers depend on the design phase that hasn't started yet.
What about the existing Highway 55?
The plan is to remove parts of the existing 55 alignment between Highway 52 and roughly Fahey Avenue, redirecting that traffic onto County Road 42.
When will construction start?
Within the next 10 years, but no specific start date has been set.
Where can I follow updates?
The MnDOT project page and Dakota County's CR42 / Highway 52 Interchange Improvements page are the best ongoing sources.
