Two recent head-on crashes — one of them deadly — in heavily traveled construction zones have some Drive readers asking if the Minnesota Department of Transportation is doing enough to keep them safe.

On April 26, cameras caught a pickup truck driver heading south on Interstate 35 at exit 54 near Faribault drift across the centerline and slam into an oncoming vehicle. Occupants in both vehicles survived.

A few days later, the driver of a Camry heading north on Hwy. 52 in Hampton Township in Dakota County strayed across the center line near 250th Street and collided with a southbound flatbed semitrailer truck. A 3-year-old passenger in the Camry died, the State Patrol said.

In both work zones, one side of the highway was closed for construction and traffic shared the other side of the road. Orange plastic posts several feet apart serve as the center divider to keep traffic in their respective lanes.

The two recent incidents come after four fatal crashes on I-35 last summer in the area near Faribault, where MnDOT is in the second year of a major resurfacing and bridge improvement project between Rice County Road 48 and state Hwy. 21. A similar traffic setup was in place in 2023.

A few Drive readers fear that the posts — called lane delineators — are not doing enough to prevent the mishaps and wonder if the agency should be using concrete barriers. The Drive took their concerns to MnDOT.

Many factors play into how MnDOT sets up work zones, including traffic speed, volume of traffic, curves and access points to the roadway. The agency follows guidelines spelled out in the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) and the state's version of that document.

The work zones on Hwy. 52 and I-35 comply with the guidelines in the MUTCD, said MnDOT spokeswoman Anne Meyer.

"Years of planning go into every project, and safety is always our top priority in that planning," Meyer said. "We are constantly monitoring the safety of our work zones. When a crash occurs in a work zone, we work closely with the State Patrol to understand the various factors of the incident and whether we can make changes to improve safety."

Both of the recent crashes remain under investigation.

Meyer said MnDOT motorists can do their part to remain safe in work zones by following the posted speed limit, being prepared for changes in speed while traveling through them and avoiding using phones and other distractions while behind the wheel.

Longer hours for My Ride

Maple Grove Transit's on-demand ride service, My Ride, has been so popular that it is now running an hour longer on weekdays, until 6:30 p.m. The agency also added two more buses to accommodate increased demand.

"The expansion will assist in reducing trip denials and in providing a wide variety of trip purposes, but will be especially beneficial in providing employment-based trips," the transit agency said.

Trips on My Ride must start or end in Maple Grove, but buses serve destinations in Osseo, Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center, plus transit centers in Robbinsdale, on Hwy. 55 in Plymouth and at the Crystal Shopping Center. Reservations can be made by calling 763-493-2200.