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Lyle one of six sites

Beginning June 21, motorists traveling in southeast Minnesota can expect short-term lane closures as Road Weather Information Systems (RWIS) stations are installed at six different locations.

One of those sites will be located in Mower County on Highway 218 near Lyle.

The six locations in Steele, Goodhue, Wabasha, Mower and Houston counties include:

• Interstate 35 near Medford at Milepost (MP) 52.1

• Highway 52 near Zumbrota at MP 73.9

• Highway 63 near Lake City at MP 62.9

• Highway 218 near Lyle at MP 4

• Highway 63 near the Iowa border at MP 0.5

• Interstate 90 near La Crescent at MP 276.4

No detours are required for this project; work will be completed under traffic with flagging operations when lane closures are required for everyone’s safety.

RWIS is an environmental sensor station in the field that is used to collect weather data such as atmospheric parameters, pavement conditions, and visibility. MnDOT uses the information gathered as well as the camera images for maintenance decision support.

The information is also sent to the National Weather Service as well as Minnesota’s 511 system. There are currently 125 RWIS systems throughout Minnesota, with an additional 36 systems to be added throughout the state by December 2022.

In addition to the installation of new stations in southeast Minnesota during 2021, there will also be new stations installed in the south central, southwest and metro areas. The entire project cost is $1.5 million and is scheduled to be complete by mid-September.