News Release

Willmar, Minn. -- Motorists will encounter work zone delays beginning Tuesday, September 5, as crews install centerline rumble strips on the two-lane segments of Highway 23 between St. Cloud and Willmar, reports the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) offices in St. Cloud and Willmar.

The work is expected to last about two weeks. Crews will begin in Stearns County near St. Cloud and proceed west towards Willmar. The operation is expected to cover 6-7 miles per day. Work will be during daylight hours Monday through Friday. There will be no traffic restrictions overnight.

Flaggers will direct both directions of traffic to the shoulders of the highway in the immediate work zone area of one to two mile segments at a time. Speed reductions will also be necessary.

Centerline rumble strips cut into the roadway are similar to the rumble strips ground into the outside shoulders of four-lane highways. There has been positive results with the outside shoulder rumble strips in reducing run-off-the-road incidents.

The centerline rumble strips are designed to alert drivers through noise and vibration, if they are driving too close to the opposite travel lane or are in the process of crossing over into the other driving lane.

The procedure is aimed at possibly reducing head-on crashes on high traffic volume two-lane roadways such as Highway 23. The rumble strips are not intended to inhibit passing opportunities under the appropriate roadway conditions, but simply to alert drivers should they inadvertently begin to wander from their own driving lane.

This is a joint safety project between Mn/DOT District 3 (St. Cloud) and Mn/DOT District 8 (Willmar). This relatively new and experimental safety measure will be implemented on nearly 50 miles of two-lane segments on Highway 23 in Stearns and Kandiyohi Counties.