RED WING, Minn. – Hwy 61 motorists west of Red Wing will encounter a left lane closure in the westbound lanes beginning May 26 as crews begin installing high-tension cable median barrier, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

Crews will begin the project near Aspen Avenue in Red Wing and work west toward Hwy 316. The lane closure will be approximately 5 miles in length. Mattison Contractors is the prime contractor on the $878,648 project. Work is scheduled to be completed by early July.

The barriers are made of three or four steel cables strung on posts. When a car hits the barrier, the posts break and the cables flex, absorbing much of a crash’s kinetic energy. This redirects the vehicle along the median, preventing a cross-median crash.

MnDOT has evaluated the performance of cable median barriers and determined that nearly all of the fatal and serious injury cross median crashes have been eliminated where the barrier has been installed.  There are restrictions on where cable median barrier can be installed but the Department is moving forward with strategic installations in locations where the risk of cross median crashes are the highest. To learn more, visit MnDOT’s website: www.mndot.gov/trafficeng/reports/cmbarrier.html

For traffic and travel information in Minnesota, visit 511mn.org or get the free smartphone app at Google Play or the App Store.

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