Traffic has opened for southbound Interstate 35 exits 26 and 18 at Ellendale and Clarks Grove as the nearly 14-mile concrete repaving project wraps up, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

Shafer Contracting Co. Inc. of Shafer was the prime contractor on the $16.9 million project. Southbound lanes on 13.9 miles of I-35 in Steele and Freeborn counties were repaved with concrete in a process known as an unbonded concrete overlay.

MnDOT urges motorists to always be attentive, drive with caution, slow down in work zones and never enter a road blocked with barriers or cones. For real-time traffic and travel information in Minnesota, visit www.511mn.org, call 5-1-1 or log on to www.mndot.gov.