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Interstate 35 motorists should be alert to crews installing a Traffic Management System beginning April 5 from the Steele-Freeborn county line to U.S. Highway 65 in Albert Lea, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

Temporary shoulder closures will occur during the project, and work is expected to be completed in October.

The work will be off of the road as crews bury the fiber optic cable, build camera locations and changeable message signs. The project spans 12.45 miles on I-35.

According to MnDOT, Traffic Management Systems integrate technology to improve the flow and safety of vehicle traffic on MnDOT roadways. To accomplish this, continuous real time traffic data is obtained using electronic equipment such as cameras and vehicle detection (roadway loops, sensors or radar). This data is provided to the MnDOT RTMC where the State Patrol, FIRST (Freeway Incident Response Safety Team) formally known as “Highway Helpers,” and maintenance staff can be dispatched.

The software also allows realtime display of important messages or estimated vehicle travel times on the dynamic message signs, adjusts vehicle entrance rates onto freeways using ramp meters, controls road closure gates, calculates and displays tolling rates on dynamic message signs and informing the public of traffic information through MnDOT’s official traffic and traveler information resource 511.org.