A grand opening celebration for new Highway 212 from Highway 41 to existing Highway 212 has been scheduled for Tuesday, July 1 at 12:30 p.m.

Charlene Zimmer, with Zumbro River Constructors (ZRC), cautioned that the roadway will not be open to the public at that point, however.

Though they were shooting for July 7th, the road is projected to open a week later, on the 14th, instead.

"There's still some work to be done," said Margaret Donahoe, executive director of the MN Transportation Alliance.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation and ZRC were hoping to have the whole roadway open the week after the Fourth of July, Zimmer said.

The grand opening celebration will be held on the new highway with refreshments to follow the ceremony.

New Highway 212 is a roughly 12-mile section of freeway connecting Eden Prairie to Carver. Construction on the $238 million project began in August 2005. Last December, the roadway opened to Highway 41 in Chaska. The grand opening will celebrate the completion of the final piece of the freeway.

For more information, visit the MnDOT project Web site for New Highway 212.

-Mollee Francisco, staff writer