Apple Valley's County Road 42 Gets a Two-Year Rebuild Starting Next Summer

TLDR

• Dakota County starts a two-year rebuild of County Road 42 in Apple Valley next summer (2027). It runs from the Burnsville border east to 147th Street.
• Frontage roads on both sides get rebuilt too, with new water and sewer lines.
• Cedar Avenue gets a new layer of asphalt next year, from County Road 42 south into Lakeville.
• Several old traffic signals, mostly along Galaxie Avenue, will be replaced over the next few years.

If you drive on the west side of Apple Valley, here's your heads-up. At the Oct. 22, 2026 Apple Valley City Council meeting, Public Works Director Matt Saam laid out the county road work coming our way. The big one is a two-year rebuild of County Road 42.

County Road 42: West End, Two Years

This year's County Road 42 work was on the east end of town. If you lived through this year's 42 detours, you know the drill. Next year it's the west end's turn.

Here's the stretch, as Saam described it:

• From: our western city limits at the Burnsville border
• To: 147th Street, "which is about where Bachman's and Walmart is"
• How long: two years, starting next summer

"That section of 42 will be completely redone," Saam said. "We're talking new pavement, curbing, lighting, signals, sidewalks where needed."

Live on a Frontage Road? This Part's for You

The frontage roads on the north and south sides of 42 are getting redone too. Those are the side roads a lot of residents live on. And they're getting new water and sewer lines.

That's the stuff under the street. Replacing it while the road is already torn up beats digging it up again later. But it probably means some disruption right outside people's homes. We don't have details yet on access or water shutoffs.

"I'd ask for continued patience as folks travel along County Road 42 next summer," Saam said.

Dakota County runs this project. The county's County Road 42 project page lists a 2027-2028 schedule and has maps and updates. We've also covered what the 2027 overhaul could look like.

Cedar Avenue Resurfacing

Cedar Avenue is getting an overlay next year. That's a fresh layer of asphalt on top of the old road, not a full rebuild. It runs from County Road 42 south into Lakeville.

If that sounds familiar, it's because the county did the north end of Cedar in 2025. This is the southern half.

New Traffic Signals

Saam also said "many of our aging traffic signals" will be replaced over the next few years. He pointed out these intersections:

• County Road 42 and Galaxie Avenue
• County Road 46 and Galaxie Avenue
• Foliage Avenue and Galaxie Avenue
• A Pilot Knob Road intersection (the meeting audio was unclear on which one)
• McAndrews Road and County Road 11/140th Street

Exact timing for each signal wasn't given. Nearby, the county also did resurfacing on County Road 42 in Burnsville this year. On the same night, the council's consent agenda included a resolution supporting Dakota County's draft 2027-2031 Capital Improvement Plan, the county's five-year list of road projects.

The Bottom Line

Start planning now. If you commute on County Road 42 west of 147th Street, look for other routes for 2027 and 2028. If you live on one of the frontage roads, watch for county and city notices about water and sewer work. Want a refresher on how the last round went? Here's our story on the Pilot Knob and County Road 42 work.