Text option for travel and project alerts now available in southwest MN
Travelers in twelve southwest Minnesota counties are now able to get text messages for state highway advisories, construction project updates, and public participation opportunities in the region. The counties included are Chippewa, Kandiyohi, Lac qui Parle, Lincoln, Lyon, McLeod, Meeker, Murray, Pipestone, Redwood, Renville, and Yellow Medicine.
While people have been able to sign up for emails to stay informed of construction projects and studies, travelers now have the convenient option of being notified by text of road situations that will help them make informed travel decisions, or let them know of occasions when they can provide feedback and learn about upcoming projects and events.
Some of the situations where a text may be issued:
Road closures (e.g., winter hazards, crashes, road repairs, construction)
Travel advisories (e.g., flooding, weather-related situations, pavement buckles)
In-person meetings and events
Online surveys and events
To sign up for text alerts, go to the MnDOT website for southwest Minnesota at mndot.gov/d8 and look for “Email and text updates” under the “Connect with us” heading. Click the link and choose to receive messages via email or text message. (Subscribers must choose either email or text; however, a text message alert will also trigger an email due to the way the software program works.) Then, choose “Construction projects” and subscribe to specific projects and/or “Southwest MN Travel Alerts” within the category Southwest MN (MnDOT District 8). An image of current subscription topics is below. Topics with a cellphone icon are available for text messages.
People may also sign up for project updates by choosing the “Sign up for project email updates” directly from individual project web pages that have the update option.
Stay connected
Learn about road construction projects and studies (2021-2024) in southwest Minnesota and sign up for text message and email updates at MnDOT’s website
Join the Southwest Minnesota Facebook group for news, events and updates
Follow us on Twitter @MnDOTsouthwest for news, events, and updates
For real-time traffic and travel information in Minnesota, visit 511mn.org or get the free smartphone app at Google Play or the App Store