Was That a Ramp Meter on the Highway 52 On-Ramp at Highway 63?

If your commute to work Monday morning took you through the Highway 52 / Highway 63 interchange in Rochester, you probably witnessed a first here in southeast Minnesota.

That's right, that was a ramp meter you might have seen on the on-ramp from Highway 63 onto northbound Highway 52. And according to this release from the Minnesota Department of Transportation, that's the first time a traffic ramp meter has been used outside of the Twin Cities metro area.

It's all part of a big construction project MnDOT is undertaking later this year along that same interchange here in Rochester, which is the fifth-busiest in the state, not counting the Twin Cities. The Highway 52 ramp meter is designed to control the flow of traffic heading north on Highway 52 during construction when travel will be restricted to one lane in each direction. The release said, "The meter will operate during peak traffic hours. The rate vehicles are released is based on traffic flow on Highway 52. The ramp meter will only be in operation during this construction project."

There are a couple of other new signs MnDOT has also activated in light of that massive project, which is slated to begin next week. You might have noticed two new message board signs, much like signs in the Twin Cities, that will let you know how much time it'll take you to get through that interchange.

According to the release, "The signs – one on northbound Highway 63 south of the 48th Street interchange and one on northbound Highway 52 near the Olmsted County Road 1 interchange – will provide driving time estimates to the Highway 52- Highway 63 interchange and the Second Street Southwest interchange via Highway 52."

The entire construction project involves replacing the concrete decks on the Highway 52 bridges over Highway 63, as well as adding an acceleration lane, and is expected to wrap up this September.