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Motorists on Interstate 35 in Steele and Freeborn counties should be alert for Minnesota Department of Transportation work crews, who are removing ash trees infested with emerald ash borer, according to MnDOT.

Work has begun in the Owatonna area and will continue south on I-35 into Freeborn County, where the infestation has been identified by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. To help slow the spread of emerald ash borer, MnDOT removed these trees ahead of the emerald ash borer flight season and will continue to remove trees.

Maintenance crews with MnDOT will be working on areas adjacent to the highway and areas near exit and entrance ramps on I-35. Motorists should move over and slow down when encountering the work crews.

MnDOT continues to work with the Department of Agriculture to slow the spread of emerald ash borer and other quarantined pests. Similar efforts have occurred elsewhere along MnDOT’s right of way, including in 2014 on Highway 63 north of Interstate 90, which is south of Rochester

To learn more about emerald ash borer, go to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s website: https://www.mda.state.mn.us/eab.