UPDATE: Downed Electric Line Stops Highway 3 Traffic

UPDATE 6:45 P.M.: Xcel Energy says two customers remain without power, as of 6:40.

_____________________________

UPDATE 6 P.M.: Xcel Energy says 66 customers remain without electric this evening, down from about 1,200 customers two hours ago.

The latest information from the Minnesota Department of Transportation says Highway 3 will remain closed until about 8 p.m.

_____________________________

UPDATE 5:05 P.M.: A boat apparently is to blame for Wednesday afternoon's road closure on Highway 3 near the Rice-Dakota county line.

Jeff Machacek, Northfield's assistant fire chief, told the Northfield News that a truck carrying a large boat northbound on Highway 3 struck electric lines and two utility poles.

One of the poles was bent from its base at roughly a 60-degree angle. That pole stood across the entrance to the Northfield Ballroom and Northfield Montessori.

Police officers were directly through traffic from Highway 3 onto Fremouw Avenue, just north of the Dairy Queen restaurant. Local traffic heading to the montessori, ballroom and Girl Scouts building, were directed onto shoulders around the numerous emergency and Xcel Energy vehicles on the scene.

____________________________

UPDATE 4:55 P.M.: Roughly 1,200 customers in the Northfield area are without electricity this afternoon, about two hours after an electric transmission line was knocked down across Highway 3 at the Rice-Dakota county line.

As of 4:40 p.m., Xcel Energy's website says 1,113 customers in Northfield and 66 just north of the city were without power. All customers were expected to have power restored shortly after 6 p.m.

Concerning the road closure, the Minnesota Department of Transportation website says the highway would remain closed until about 8 p.m. Wednesday.

_____________________________

ORIGINAL STORY: Highway 3 near the Rice-Dakota county continues to be closed because of a downed electric line Wednesday afternoon. The highway closure could last well into the evening.

Northfield police officers, with the help of the Minnesota State Patrol, had the highway blocked in both directions surrounding the downed electric line.

Initial reports say a large boat on a trailer struck the line at about 2:30 p.m.

A utility pole at the entrance of the Northfield Ballroom was leaning at about a 60-degree angle.

At least six Northfield Police patrol vehicles, as well as six trucks from Xcel Energy, were on the scene. One of the trucks was hauling a new utility pole on a trailer.

Check back to Patch for more details.