5 Reasons To Do The Zipper Merge in Southeast Minnesota

Road construction season is in full swing here in the Land of 10,000 highway projects, so here are five reminders why we all need to do the Zipper Merge.

The Zipper Merge isn't a new concept; MnDOT has been trying to get Minnesota travelers to do it now for going on ten years. I first heard about it 6 years ago, when my wife and I encountered a big back-up in a construction zone on the way up to the North Shore.

But yet, many Minnesotans don't do it. Are you one of them? DON'T BE!

DO THE ZIPPER MERGE!!!!!

Because, I don't know about you, but I don't think it's very fun to sit in a traffic back-up several miles long along Highway-52 because everybody merged into the open lane way too early-- even though the construction lane isn't closed for a mile or two down the road.

But if we all do the Zipper Merge and stay in BOTH lanes until signs say to merge (and then take turns letting other cars in), we can cut that time almost in half!

Problems happen, though, when only some of us (that'd be me) do the Zipper Merge. We tool along in the open lane-- LIKE MNDOT WANTS US TO-- while everybody else sits backed up in the other lane. And then, rather than taking turns to let us in at the merge, some jackbooted thug takes it upon himself to self-police things and block us from merging. Which, these days, could result in some serious road rage.

And, seeing as there are FIVE different construction projects along Highway-52 between Rochester and Twin Cities right now (and pretty much all summer long), here are five good reasons WE ALL NEED TO DO THE ZIPPER MERGE. Because I'm all for reducing the time we spend waiting to move through those orange barrels!

Need a refresher on how the Zipper Merge is supposed to work? Take a look...